Remove duty on cotton imports: Stalin urges Centre

‘Cut minimum lot offered at e-auction’

November 30, 2021 02:04 am | Updated 02:04 am IST

M.K. Stalin

M.K. Stalin

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin urged Union Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday to direct the Ministries concerned to remove the 11% import duty on cotton. He pitched for reducing the minimum lot at e-auction.

In a letter, he also sought the extension of 5% interest subvention to spinning mills for cotton procurement during the peak season (December-March). Mr. Stalin said he had received a representation from the apparel manufacturers on cotton and yarn price volatility and its impact on the prices of fabrics and garments. Tamil Nadu accounted for one-third of India’s textile business.

“The crisis has led to mass cancellation of export orders and hardships in the fulfilment of long-term export commitments. If this situation is not reined in, a large number of apparel and home textile units may soon become unviable, resulting in closure and large-scale unemployment and industrial unrest,” he said.

One of the major reasons for the cotton price volatility was the 5% basic customs duty, 5% agriculture infrastructure development cess and 10% social welfare cess imposed in the Union Budget for 2021-22. This amounted to an overall import duty of 11%, he said.

Mr. Stalin said another reason for the cotton price increase was the bulk discount offered by the Cotton Corporation of India to traders who procured almost 70% of minimum support price cotton auctioned at a lower rate during the cotton season. Then the traders speculated on the market. He requested Mr. Goyal to remove the 11% import duty; cut the minimum lot at e-auction to 500 bales; and give priority to yarn manufacturers in cotton procurement over traders.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.