New Delhi, September 23: Amid demands from the textile ministry for freezing cotton exports for the next three months, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today made it clear that no outright ban will imposed in the interest of farmers.
“Textile industry is making noise, but this is the golden opportunity for farmers to get some better price,” Pawar told reporters here.
He said while the interest of the domestic industry needs to be protected, “I will not accept total ban.”
Senior ministers, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Pawar, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran will meet next week to finalise the schedule for export registration. The cotton year starts from October and continues till September.
Export registrations, which were to open on September 15, were put on hold till October.
While Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar had announced that duty-free exports of 5.
–Agencies