Guntur, January 17: There has been a considerable fall in cotton production in the country due to the recent rains, sending the ginning industry into a tizzy with the lack of raw material.
The ginning industry is mainly concentrated in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.
With the decrease in cotton production and the increasing demand in countries like China, Pakistan and Egypt where the cotton farmers suffered heavy losses due to incessant rains, the price of quality cotton soared this year when compared to last year.
Speaking to Express, AP Ginning Mills Association chairman and Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) member, Gorantla Punnaiah Chowdary said that the Centre expected the cotton production at 3.25 crore bales, but the total production in the country could not cross 2 crore bales this year. Chowdary demanded the Centre not to permit cotton exports more than than 55 lakh bales. He said the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal governments also urged the Centre to put a cap on the cotton exports at 55 lakh bales.
–Agences