Textile mills in south India may save time on cotton imports as international global cotton traders will be able to store cotton containers at Thoothukudi Port in Tamil Nadu.
It will also help buyers in other south east Asian countries.
Chairman of Southern India Mills Association, M. Senthil Kumar, said that the project, initiated by the association and to be implemented in two phases, will bring down the price volatility risks in cotton prices.
Initially, 250 containers can be stored at Thoothukudi terminal without any charges for supply to domestic buyers and also for trans–shipment to buyers in the neighbouring countries.
The containers will not be opened at the terminal.“We have sought permission for containers to be stored for 30 days without any charges and hope to get it,” Mr. Kumar said. It also requires the nod of Customs and Plant Quarantine office for both domestic supply and transshipment.
“We expect the formal approval for all these in another 10 days and hope the facility will be available from next month,” he said. India imported about 25 lakh bales of cotton during the last cotton season (October 2015 to September 2016) and more than 70% of it was by textile mills from south India.
