Cotton Farmers Blame Centre’s Import Policy For Fall In Prices
Adilabad market price drops to `8,850 per quintal
Cotton prices at the Adilabad market yard fell to `8,850 per quintal on Wednesday, against the minimum support price (MSP) of `8,667, causing concern among farmers who had expected prices to touch `10,000 following a decline in crop yield.
Farmers and opposition parties, including the Congress, have blamed the Centre's cotton import policy for the fall in prices and threatened an agitation.
The highest price recorded at the Adilabad market yard on the first day of commercial cotton trading was `9,260 per quintal. Farmers said they were not getting the expected benefit from the Cotton Corporation of India and were being forced to sell their produce to private traders at prices only marginally above the MSP.
Farmers criticised the Centre's decision to extend the 11 per cent customs duty exemption on cotton imports until December 31, 2026. The move, they said, “benefits private traders while leaving cotton growers at a disadvantage.”
“Cotton picking was currently under way and there would be no second or third picking. As a result, we would have little cotton left to sell if prices increase after December 31. Private traders and cotton ginning and pressing unit owners would be able to sell cotton bales at higher prices later,” they said.
Kondru Narsing, a farmer from Yapalguda in Adilabad Rural mandal, said cotton growers were bearing the impact of the Centre's policy on cotton imports. Farmers would have sold their produce by the time the prices increased, he said.
Private traders are also making deductions for moisture content above 12 per cent, further reducing the prices received by farmers. This comes amid crop losses and a sharp decline in cotton yield, farmers said.
Adilabad market committee chairman Boranchu Srikanth Reddy said, “They are making efforts to ensure the cotton farmers get good prices above the MSP.” and added that the prevailing chilly and foggy weather conditions affected the cotton prices in terms of high moisture in the cotton."
He said the Centre's policy had also affected cotton prices and that, otherwise, prices could have risen to `12,000 per quintal this season.
