CCI plans to export ten lakh bales of cotton

India, Bangladesh may ink MoU.

Khammam, Telangana, 16/12/2020: Workers loading the Cotton bags to Gujarat, at Khammam cotton market on Wednesday. cotton exported from khammam to Gujarat has good demand. Photo: G N Rao/ The Hindu

The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) plans to export at least 10 lakh bales of cotton during the current season.

Pradeep Kumar Agarwal, CMD of CCI, told The Hindu it had procured almost 85 lakh bales of cotton at minimum support price (MSP) since the beginning of the current cotton season (October 2020-September 2021). With cotton prices rising, the CCI had reduced the purchases at MSP.

Better prices

“The farmers are getting better prices,” he said.

“Hence, CCI’s daily purchase has dropped to 40,000 to 50,000 bales a day from about two lakh bales a day a few weeks ago,” he added.

The CCI is active mainly in Telangana and Maharashtra. It will continue to be present in the market till the end of the season. Of the cotton procured so far, it had sold 12 lakh bales to the domestic textile sector.

The CCI has till now exported about 25,000 bales. It is looking at a minimum of 10 lakh bales for export this season, a majority of which would be to Bangladesh.

The governments of India and Bangladesh are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding in this regard. There could be exports to other countries through merchant exporters, Mr. Agarwal added.