a day ago
Cotton farmers condemn removal of import duty, call it a disastrous setback
The Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers Association slammed the Union government's decision to remove the 11% import duty on cotton, calling it a 'severe blow' to India's cotton growers.
In a press release on Wednesday (August 20), association State general secretary P. Jamalayya and president E. Katamayyah said the Union government scrapped the import duty on cotton, effective from August 19, and it will remain in force until September 30. The government claimed the decision was taken in the interest of the public and agricultural infrastructure development. Farmers' unions, however, dismissed this reasoning as 'false and misleading.'
They feared that scrapping import duties would depress domestic cotton prices, allowing importers and traders to stockpile cheap foreign cotton and manipulate markets when the Indian harvest begins in October. 'This will directly hurt small and marginal tenant farmers, pushing them into deeper debt and triggering more farmer suicides,' they felt.
They pointed out that the MSP announced for cotton this year is ₹7,710 a quintal, far below the ₹10,075 a quintal recommended under the C2+50% formula. In Andhra Pradesh alone, cotton is grown on nearly 15 lakh acres, meaning lakhs of agricultural families would be severely affected, they said and urged the Centre to restore import duties, guarantee MSP at C2+50%, and ensure that the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) purchases cotton to protect domestic farmers.
