Saurashtra cotton farmers hold rally to oppose Govt's export policy
02 Oct '10
1 min read
More than 20,000 cotton growers from Saurashtra organized a rally, to oppose the Central government's policy on cotton exports.
The rally had been called by Maha Gujarat AgriCotton Producer Company, a body advocated by the cotton growers and assisted by Bharat Vikas Sangh.
According to the cotton growers, the government's cotton export policy will mostly affect the cotton growers of Gujarat as the state produces around 40 percent of the country's total cotton.
According to him, the cotton growers are asking the government to export 10 million bales as production of cotton is anticipated to rise by 15 percent.
The Centre has set a limit of 5.5 million bales for 2010-11 and Sharad Pawar – the Agriculture Minister of the country, said that, that there is a possibility of increasing this limit up to 8.0 million bales.
Cotton growers from India can generate additional income by exporting more cotton as Pakistan and China will be producing less cotton owing to the heavy rains this year, which has destroyed their cotton crops.