Two new cotton futures launched

East India Cotton Association (EICA) launched two specific new future contracts ICC-21 (Shankar - 6) and ICC - 22 (V797).

The association offers one contract at present, ICC, with a trade size of 11 bales of 170 kg each and trading would be available for all five full working days.

Opening next month for trade, these newly launched favourite varieties of cotton would be available for EICA members in a tradeable unit of 100 bales only three days a week i.e Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

"Our existing contract ICC of 26mm fine grade has failed to attract traders for the last few months. Therefore, we decided to launch new contracts to attract trades from our 105 members who are otherwise trading on national exchanges," an EICA source said.

Margin for the new contracts is set at Rs 50,000 or 5 per cent whichever is higher. ICC 21 is deliverable at Manavdar, Kadi, Rajkot, Bodeli, Idar, Palej, Anjar and Surendranagar while ICC 22 would be delivered at Anjar, Harij, Kadi, Limdi and Dhandhuka.

Launched by the Union Minister for Textiles Shankar Singh Vaghela, the two contracts would be a success and they would turn the future of EICA, the association official hoped.

"Today, agriculture revolution is shirinking at the hands of industrial revolution which is good if the productivity is higher," Vaghela said while unveiling these contracts.

Cotton output depends upon rainfall and any difficulty in adequate rainfall results in lower production.

"I urge traders and company concerned to provide good quality seeds and other necessary facilities to farmers for bumper production and create an environment to pay farmers higher than minimum support price (MSP) so that the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) needs not to set up MSP next year," Vaghela added.

While comparing China with India in cotton and textile production and trade, Vaghela said that "We can not compete with China due to centre specific production and trade. China can afford setting up all backward and forward integration including cotton farming, weaving, spinning, stitching and exports from single region while India can not afford such practice being a republic country".