The domestic cotton textiles industry of the country has lost some of its sheen owing to rising prices of cotton at home and globally. The domestic demand for cotton textiles is moving up but is not enough to bring substantial gains to the sector, industry observers feel.
International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has forecast that the Cotloook A Indiex may well average 6 cents higher at 63 cents per pound in the next season owing to mainly lower crop, higher Chinese demand and weakening dollar.
Back home, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the main cotton producing areas, would harvest a lower quantity of finer varieties of cotton. Hence the industry has to depend more on imports as quality of yarn for exports is significantly higher.
The prices of yarn of 60