Economy
Centre may defer cotton quality order
Summary
A QCO bars manufacturers, importers and distributors from storing or selling a product without a Standard Mark, except under licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
NEW DELHI : The union government is reconsidering the timeline to bring cotton bales, a key element in the textile supply chain, under a quality control order (QCO) amid a sharp response from farmers who are struggling to improve cotton yields due to “abnormal" weather conditions, two people aware of the development said.
A QCO bars manufacturers, importers and distributors from storing or selling a product without a Standard Mark, except under licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Farmers groups in a letter to textile minister Piyush Goyal cited factors such as lack of testing facilities, changing weather patterns and declining cotton production over the years as reasons for not being ready to comply with BIS standards.
“No one wants to make bad cotton quality bales, but it’s due to available raw material and climate. Quality parameters can be set for manufactured products but agri commodities are heavily reliant on weather conditions beyond the control of anyone," the Indian Cotton Association Ltd., Bathinda, said in a letter to the minister.
Improving the quality of cotton is crucial for New Delhi as orders move away from China after the covid-19 pandemic.
The supply chain reset is seen as a major opportunity to boost Indian textile and other merchandise exports.
The government had approved the QCO for mandatory certification of cotton bales under in February.
Policy changes in cotton assume significance as the Indian textile industry uses over 60% cotton as raw material, unlike the global textile industry that has a 40:60 mix of cotton and man-made fibres. The textile sector is the second largest provider of employment in India, after agriculture and accounts for over 2% of the total GDP.
The Haryana Cotton Ginners Association in a letter pointed out that in the absence of a testing infrastructure, a QCO could spark major disputes.
“Cotton production has been declining for a couple of years in northern states, especially in Punjab due to abnormal weather conditions. In 2022-23 (July-June), Punjab was estimated to produce 700,000-800,000 bales (1 bale = 170 kg) of cotton, but the output has been 250,000 bales. Production is suffering because farmers are choosing paddy over cotton," Jatinder Singh, Secretary of Indian Cotton Association Ltd said.
According to the government’s third advance estimates, cotton production in 2022-23 (July-June) has been 34.3 million bales as against last year’s 31.1 million bales. However, the Cotton Association of India revised the estimates downwards to 29.8 million bales compared with 30.7 million bales predicted in 2021-22.
Queries sent to the textile ministry remained unanswered till press time.
