Cotton Association demands removal of 11% import duty
By yash chouhan 2025-12-10 16:37:40
The Cotton Association of India has appealed to the government to remove the 11% import duty on raw cotton imports.
Mumbai: The Cotton Association of India (CAI), the largest industry body, has appealed to the central government to remove the current 11% import duty on cotton to support and protect the entire cotton and textile value chain.
“Current market challenges due to low domestic productivity and high MSPs have made Indian cotton more expensive than other competitive international cotton varieties,” CAI President Vinay Kotak said on Tuesday. “The 11% import duty imposed on cotton imports into India not only distorts prices but also exacerbates the hardships of our textile industry.”
He said, "The only way to improve the textile industry is to provide a sustainable and competitive supply of raw materials. Farmers are already protected through the MSP system. Now is the time to protect the textile industry by removing the 11% import duty. This will provide textile/spinning mills with competitive raw materials." According to him, the industry is suffering losses due to the uncertainty of United States tariffs and the recession in Europe.
He said, "If the textile industry is not supported now, it could immediately lead to unemployment, loan defaults, and bad debts across the entire textile value chain."
The Textile Ministry's target of exporting $100 billion in textile products by 2030 will only be achieved if manufacturers have access to competitive raw materials.
Kotak said, "The 11% import duty was imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic under special circumstances. Prior to that, there was generally no import duty on cotton in India, and it did not adversely affect farmers." He added: "This season, unseasonal rains have severely damaged the quality of Indian cotton. Therefore, our textile mills will be forced to import cotton to meet buyers' quality requirements. If the 11% import duty is not lifted, Indian textile goods will become uncompetitive, and buyers will shift to Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other markets. This could lead to long-term losses and a decline in India's share of the global cotton textile market."
Kotak said the government is working hard to finalize FTAs with several countries.
Praising the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, he said, “We can also reach a USA tariff solution. These events will provide our textile industry with a significant opportunity to export yarn and other textile products and increase India's share in world textile trade. These benefits can only be achieved if the 11% duty on raw cotton imports into India is removed, thus providing access to raw materials at competitive rates.”
He further said, “In fact, the mega trend of the 'China Plus One' policy and the potential shift of sourcing from Bangladesh due to the unstable political situation and the shortage of US dollars present a golden opportunity for the Indian textile industry to grow and increase exports, provided the 11% import duty is removed and our textile industry can access competitive cotton.”
