The South India Spinners Association has requested CCI to sell cotton exclusively to MSME sector spinning mills starting July 1, amid the textile sector's financial challenges and operational difficulties.
Coimbatore: The South India Spinners Association has officially called upon the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to reserve its cotton sales exclusively for Micro, Small, and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSME) spinning mills from the upcoming month. This appeal was articulated by the association's secretary, S. Jagadesh Chandran, through a press communication detailing the current precarious status of the textile industry.
Chandran emphasized that numerous textile mills across Tamil Nadu have been forced to shut down recently. He attributed these closures to a severe financial strain, escalated operating expenses, and unpredictable market conditions, further exacerbated by a significant downturn in yarn and textile exports along with heightened competition from imported goods.
Echoing the association's concerns, Chandran demands that the CCI earmarks their substantial stockpile of 24 lakh bales exclusively for MSME mills for the next three months. He criticized the existing sales mechanism, which allows traders to acquire supplies potentially leading to speculative market practices. “We request you to halt sales to traders and maintain these reserves solely for mills' utilisation,” he asserted.
The industry experienced a recent crisis four months prior when cotton prices surged abruptly. In response, the Ministry of Textiles, along with directives to the CCI, curtailed cotton sales to traders. This intervention led to a reduction in cotton prices and stabilized the market. “Following our intervention, cotton prices decreased to ₹57,000 from a hike up to ₹63,000 per candy and have remained steady since,” Chandran recalled.