Textile industry to submit proposal to raise cotton productivity

The textile industry will soon submit to the government a proposal to improve cotton quality and productivity.

Union Textile Minister Piyush Goyal and and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar held a meeting with cotton sector stakeholders on July 24.

Ravi Sam, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), who participated in the meeting, said a multi-pronged approach is required for farmers to sow quality seeds and adopt best practices, to improve soil health, and reduce contamination in cotton.

The industry will submit a proposal to the government, start engaging with the farmers, and also extend support to them to increase productivity and improve quality. “The aim is to start working with farmers for the winter sowing,” he said.

A press release from SIMA, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, and The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council said annual cotton production in the country is estimated to drop to the lowest level of 315 lakh bales this season.

The meeting of stakeholders on July 24 discussed on the need and ways to adopt global best practices and also brand Indian cotton and textile products. The stakeholders should come together and work on a mission mode for holistic growth of cotton textile value chain. It was decided at the meeting to have testing facilities from farm to industry, produce clean and contamination-free cotton, have a strategy to curb illegal sale of spurious seeds and educate younger farmers to use genetically pure certified seeds, it said.