Business

CAI President Sounds An Optimistic Note For The Current Cotton Season

In a recent speech given by Atulbhai Ganatra, President Cotton Association of India at the annual gala dinner at the Turf Club, Mahalaxmi Race Course, he announced that he and his team of directors had met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and urged him to remove the market cess levied by the various marketing committees that range from 0.5% to 1.1%.

Ganatra announced that the Chief Minister had agreed to their requisition and had assured them that the mandi tax on Kapas will be removed. Also, Maharashtra government will shortly come out with favourable Textile Policy, which will attract the investors of cotton trade to put cotton spinning mills in Maharashtra, he added.

He further said, “All India ginners are facing problems in the new GST regime under RCM. CAI has taken up this issue with the GST Council and the Finance Minister, New Delhi and there was a protest against this by the all India ginners strike which was held on 15^th December successfully in majority of cotton growing states in India. CAI has 70 ginners as members in the Association and this is the first time CAI has taken up the matter of solving problems of the ginners seriously.”

The president and CAI's 10 directors met the CMD and other directors of Cotton Corporation of India and requested to utilize CAI’s 13 cotton testing laboratories which are in almost all cotton growing states and also to use the CAI arbitration facilities. This will boost CAI's income, he added.

The CAI Crop Committee met on 27^th December at CAI headquarters in Mumbai. In this meeting, CAI is firm on their earlier estimate of cotton crop of 375 lakh bales for this season. As per CAI, arrival of cotton in India up to 31^st December, 2017, had crossed 147.75 lakh bales in this season. By the same time last year arrivals were about 108 lakh bales. These arrival figures were collected from each state, by consulting four big ginners to arrive the correct figures. CAI has announced cotton crop size of 375 lakh bales which looks achievable looking to the pace of arrivals this season.

Since cotton rates have gone up in India by 10% in the last one month, the earlier set target of cotton export of 63 lakh bales looks difficult now, hence cotton export figures have been reduced and revised from the earlier 63 lakh bales to 55 lakh bales.

Since cotton price has increased in India, parity to import of cotton has increased so CAI has revised import figures from 17 lakh bales to 20 lakh bales this season, import of cotton may increase. CAI estimated total consumption of cotton during 1^st October 2017 to 30^th September 2018 of around 320 lakh bales.

Due to reduction in export and increase in import, CAI’s carry forward has increased from 39 lakh bales to 50 lakh bales on 30^th September 2018, which is a very comfortable position for Indian spinning mills. The CAI President said that our Association is ready to join hands and work together hand in hand with all other state associations.

President said he and his team of 20 directors and the entire staff of CAI has firmly made up their minds to work hard to solve the cotton trade issues and bring back the old and prestigious glory of CAI, which is the parent body of all the associations in India. This past glory was at its peak during the past when Babaseth and Suresh Bhai were the Presidents of the Association.