Mills association demands for rollback of duty on cotton imports

摘要

The Southern India Mills' Association has sought a roll-back of the 10% customs duty on cotton imports announced in the Union Budget, as it would escalate the cost of garments and result in higher import of garments, especially from countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Ashwin Chandran, chairman of Southern India Mills' Association, said that India imports mainly extra-long staple (ELS) cotton, organic cotton, contamination-free cotton and sustainable cotton. The production of these varieties is either nil or meagre in India. Indian mills consume about 15 lakh bales of ELS cotton annually as against the domestic production of about five lakh bales, Mr. Chandran said. India is a major importer of Pima and Giza cotton varieties.