CCI to release 2 lakh bales in domestic market

WARANGAL ( AP ) -17-11-2010 --Freshly arrived cotton bales at the Cotton Corporation of India's -Enumamula Agriculture Market Yard in Warangal District ( 140 kms from Hyderabad) of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday . Over the past week , cotton farmers have agitated , refusing to part with their produce as CCI had dropped procurement price from Rs 4400 to Rs 3800 due to high moisture content , leading to downfall in procurement . According to the CCI website , 3.80 million bales have arrived in various procurement centers with a daily arrival of 2Lakh to 2.30 Lakh bales and the end of November could see about 8 million bales of procurement . The present price of ginned cotton is ruling at Rs 41500 to Rs 43000 per candy ( 356 kgs ).---PHOTO: P_V_SIVAKUMAR

The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), which procured nearly 20 lakh bales of cotton at the beginning of the current cotton season at minimum support price, is expected to release some quantity into the market soon.

According to an official source, the CCI is expected to release two lakh bales of cotton in the domestic market.

B.K. Mishra, Chairman and Managing Director of the CCI, who did not specify the quantity, told

The Hindu over phone that modalities of the sale in the domestic market were yet to be finalised.

The CCI had also sought approval from the Ministry of Textiles for export of 10 lakh bales.

Trade sources here said that most of the cotton purchased by the CCI was from Andhra Pradesh. The price of the varieties grown in the State was Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 41,000 a candy on Tuesday. Cotton purchase by the domestic mills and exporters was sluggish and price of the widely used Shankar-6 variety of cotton was between Rs. 38,000 and Rs. 38,500 a candy.

Though purchases were low and the CCI norms for purchase might be tough, release of cotton by the corporation would ease the price.

The textile industry has been seeking release of the entire quantity of cotton procured by the Government agencies into the domestic market so that cotton prices would do not shoot up.