The unprecedented rise in cotton prices has put tens of thousands of workers at risk of losing their jobs due to the shutdown in small mills in Tamil Nadu.
Coimbatore: Tens of thousands of workers are at risk of losing their jobs due to rising cotton prices, according to the South India Spinners Association.
According to the South India Spinners Association, “In India, especially in Tamil Nadu, the price of cotton is going up immensely.
30 mm Cotton the average price of a bundle of 356 kg of cotton was Rs.76,000/- in January 2022. Gradually rising, the price of the current punch continues to rise to an all-time high of about Rs.1,05,000. Over the past month, yarn sales have been very sluggish.
In addition, the loss is around Rs.25- to Rs.30 /- per kg. Due to the increase in the price of cotton, many spinners have switched to synthetic yarn. The working capital of most small and medium (SME) mills is completely destroyed and is at risk.
Therefore, most of our members are giving away their product one day / two days off per week. Some have reduced it to one shift, two shifts. If this situation continues, indirectly and directly, millions of workers will lose their jobs and all industries in the Textile Value Chain are at risk of becoming paralyzed.
In India, the shortage of cotton is huge and it is very difficult to get quality cotton. Tamil Nadu alone accounts for about 50% of the country's total cotton production. It buys Tamil Nadu spinning mills from the northern states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Punjab.
The yield of cotton produced in our country cannot be measured accurately. Neither the central government nor the private sector has any statistics. This is what is fundamentally wrong with us. India needs to document agriculture to increase cotton production on par with the rest of the world.
The following demands should be acted upon by the Central and State Governments on an immediate wartime basis.
1. The basic reason for the shortage of cotton in the country is the lack of statistics on the yield of cotton produced in our country. Therefore, the Central, State Governments and the Department of Agriculture should immediately find out new strategies and methods to collect accurate statistics on who is selling cotton, who is selling cotton, the quantity of cotton in stock, etc., from farmers, cotton ginning and pressing.
2. Operating under the Central Ministry of Textiles, when the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) calculates the supply of cotton every year, the remaining cotton needed to go to our country will be exported. But, every year, they export the cotton before the cotton required for our country arrives. Therefore, after calculating the cotton required for our country and the end of the cotton season, we need to calculate the production and allow our country to export the remaining cotton to go to the need for cotton.
3. Our Association would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Central Government for abolishing the import duty on Punch till September 30, 2022. At the same time, in order to bring about an equality in the spinning industry, the Central Government should permanently abolish the import tax levied on punch.
4. The cotton trade (speculation) such as the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) and the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) should be completely banned.
5. Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) Minimum Support Price (MSP) or above at a reasonable market price, purchase quality cotton, cotton should be distributed directly to the spinners at reasonable prices. Also, cotton should not be sold to multinational corporations or big business.
6. In order to protect the textile sector, the Central Government must document the maintenance of a minimum buffer stock in India.
7. Cotton is the natural product of our nation's largest industry, the raw material for spinning. Compared to the global market for cotton production in our country, our country's cotton production is very low. The Central Agricultural Departments should make a serious effort to identify the cotton production system required for our country, the cotton distribution system and the availability of quality cotton for the textile industry and create a new board with experience in the new distribution system.
In addition, the Central and State Governments should introduce new varieties of cotton seeds, increase cotton production, adopt many new techniques and take action on a wartime basis to save agricultural livelihoods. In addition, the central government should allocate more funds for seed development and crop research.
8. Cotton, the raw material required for Tamil Nadu spinning mills, is produced in Tamil Nadu at 5%. Therefore, Tamil Nadu Agriculture should introduce new varieties of cotton seeds to the farmers cultivating cotton in Tamil Nadu, increase the area and employ new techniques to increase cotton production.
According to the South India Spinners Association.