Tamil Nadu: Cotton imports double, production hits 15-year low
2025-06-19 11:05:23
Cotton Output Falls, Imports Rise in Tamil Nadu
Chennai : Cotton imports in April-May more than doubled compared to the same period last year after domestic production hit a 15-year low. The industry wants the import duty to be removed by the end of the crop year as it feels it will impact textile exports. The country imported raw and waste cotton worth $102 million in May as against $43.8 million in the same month last year, a 133 per cent rise. A total of $189 million worth of cotton was imported during April-May this fiscal, compared with $81.7 million last year. Imports have risen 131 per cent in the last two months.
Cotton production in the current crop year is expected to be a 15-year low at 294 million bales. K., general secretary of the South India Mills Association, said the imports will be 15-year low. Selvaraju said, "Usually India produces 300 to 340 lakh bales of cotton and the last time the country produced less than 300 lakh bales was in 2008-09 at 290 lakh bales. Then the consumption was 229 lakh bales. But now the consumption has increased to 318 lakh bales." Due to low production, cotton prices have gone up and are 12 to 20 per cent higher than international prices. The government has also increased the minimum support price for cotton.
Despite the 11 per cent duty, the industry prefers to buy cotton from foreign markets due to the price difference. "Also, the realisation of imported cotton is better due to less contamination," said Chandrima Chatterjee, general secretary of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry. According to her, imports are likely to remain high in the coming months due to the decrease in production.
"The industry wants the government to reduce the duty by the end of the crop year in October. This will improve the availability of cotton for downstream industries. Higher prices due to import duty will reduce the competitiveness of Indian textiles and apparels and reduce exports of textile products," Selvaraju said.
