INDIA: Textile Industry Workers in Coimbatore Demand Ban on Cotton Exports
Thousands of workers of textile industry took to streets protesting against export of raw cotton and hike in prices of cotton yarn. Workers of various textile association participated in the massive rally in Erode district demanding ban on cotton exports. Cotton prices in the domestic market shot up by 35 per cent…
Egytex News Desk
Egytex
The Joint Action Committee also appealed to the Government to withdraw 10 per cent customs duty and four per cent additional customs duty on the imports of the commodity for the current year. Industrialists fear that if the situation persists and the government takes no action the textile manufacturers will be forced to close down.
"We are afraid that if the present situation continues, all our processing industries will face gradual slowdown. One day, it will be a closedown phase. So something has to be done at the raw material status. So, the government of India has to control yarn price by various means," said Vajiraavel, a textile industrialist.
According to experts, the prices of raw material have shot up in the domestic market mainly because of the uncontrolled export of cotton and heavy hording of yarn by the international traders in the domestic market.
The Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) has estimated a record production of 31.5 million bales of cotton for the current season. It has also projected the exports for the current year at 8.5 million bales as against 4.7 million bales last year.
Source: DailyIndia.com
From the Egytex news archive, first published on 3 July 2008. Figures and names are as reported at the time.
