The substantial revision in the Minimum Support Price of cotton (by about 45 per cent last year), coupled with the slowdown in the economy, has put the Punjab textile industry in the doldrums. Some of the spinning mills have deferred their expansion plans and many have become unviable.
According to the President of NITMA (Northern India Textiles Mills Association), Ashish Bagrodia, the substantial revision in the Minimum Support Price (from Rs 1,800 per quintal to Rs 2,800 per quintal for medium staple cotton) has put the mills’ finances in jeopardy .
He added that NITMA, through its parent organisation, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, had made a presentation to the Union Ministry of Textiles to mobilise policymakers to safeguard the interests of spinning mills.