In a direct reply to agitating ginners across the country, Union Textile Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela today refused to reduce Minimum
“Ginners reaped the rich benefits of higher cotton prices last year. Now let the farmers earn higher returns this year,” he said today at a press conference here in Ahmedabad. “Market prices of cotton were 45 per cent higher than the cotton MSP last year and this years’ hike in cotton MSP was aimed at levelling cotton MSP against market prices,” he added.
“If the ginniners feel like closing down their mills, they can shut them,” he said. Centre government had increased the cotton MSP for 2008-09 by 40 per cent on 1 September this year. The Union Textile Minister has also written a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding Rs. 565 crore for cotton procurement by CCI during 2008-09. “Apart from this, Rs. 1,500 crore have been sought from the Centre for cotton procurement next fiscal,” he added.
Informing that CCI is purchasing 1.50 lakh bales everyday from farmers across the country, he assured the farmers that the government would continue to buy cotton at MSP from its procurement centers. He also suggested the farmers not to sell their produce below MSP.
“Currently, CCI has opened 280 centers in the country to procure cotton from farmers and it would launch more if required,” he added. As on date Rs. 2,100 crore have been paid to farmers for cotton purchased from them.
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The minister said daily arrivals of cotton from the states growing the crop is between 150,000-160,000 bales per day. CCI is buying less than 50 per cent of the total arrivals in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and it is buying almost 85 per cent to 90 per cent of total kapas arrivals in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra.
He also estimated that cotton production is likely to be around 322 lakh bales during 2008-09 in India as compared to estimated production of 315 lakh bales last year. As far as Gujarat is concerned, he pegged cotton production in Gujarat at 100 lakh bales.