BIZ-COTTON

CCI urged to release cotton lint stock at market price level
Coimbatore, July 21 (PTI) The Indian Cotton Federation
has urged the Cotton Corporation of India to immediately
release cotton lint stock held with it at the ruling market
price level.
In a letter to CCI Chairman and Managing Director, Dr P
Alli Rani, the Federation said member spinning mills were not
getting quality cotton to meet their demand to cope up with
the production of yarn and finished goods.
The trade circles have predicted lower cotton crop
volume, though the Cotton Advisory Board has predicted
production to be 337 lakh bales for the 2018-19 season with a
reasonable carry over stock, ICF president J Thulasidhara said
in the letter.
Multiple factors were affecting cotton movement and its
availability to sustain the continuity of mill consumption
with no layoff for labour, usually in the April-September
season when supply of raw cotton is stagnant due to low
arrivals in the market
This not only reduces availability of raw cotton for the
mills, but also increases its prices in the domestic market,
he said.
In the last few months, while international prices have
fallen by over 25 per cent, lndian prices have corrected by
just five per cent, making lndian spinners totally
uncompetitive, it said.
Since CCI still holds about nine lakh bales and was
offering the same at higher price levels than MCX and spot
prices through e-auction, ICF should come to the rescue of
mills' operations by offering cotton lint stock in support of
cotton consuming mills, he said.
"We have reliable feedback that the cotton arrival for
the new season may begin by end of October 2019. We would also
like to bring to your kind notice the fact that China during
the off season sell a fixed quantity of raw cotton bales at a
market linked prices from their reserve, every day, to
safeguard the spinning industry", Thulasidharan said.
ICF also requested the chairman to formulate a clear
policy on pricing and sale of cotton to ensure that industry
does not have to worry about getting raw cotton bales procured
at MSP levels by CCI at reasonable level off season whose
advantage is taken by MCX speculators and cotton traders, it
said. PTI NVM APR
APR APR

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)