Lok Sabha Question No. 5488 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-04-05
Subject: Reduction of cotton imports
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy, Manne Srinivas Reddy, Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5488 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.04.2023

## REDUCTION OF COTTON IMPORTS

## 5488. SHRI KOMATI REDDY VENKAT REDDY: SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY: SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHNA RAJU:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री be pleased to state :

(a)  whether  the  Government  is  taking  steps  for  exports  of  cotton  and  its  related  items  and  reducing cotton imports, if so, the details thereof including the steps being taken in this regard;

(b) whether the Government is aware of the production of cotton, increase of pesticide rate and labour rate  of  cotton  and  its  related  items  and  mixing  of  cotton  and  jute  in  some  products  which  is  putting farmers in losses, if  so, the details thereof, State-wise since 2014 onwards to till date along with the corrective steps being taken till now; and

(c) the details of suggestions/demands received/ action taken by the Government from cotton producers and its companies till now to help the cotton industry at various stages?

## उत्तर ANSWER वस्त्र राज् य मंत्री ( श्रीमती दर्शना जरदोर् ) THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES

## (SMT. DARSHANA JARDOSH)

(a): India is a net cotton exporter country wherein production is more than consumption.  Looking at the wider interest of the entire cotton value chain including cotton farmers, Government of India has kept  export  of  cotton  under  Open  General  License  (OGL)  whereas  there  is  an  import  duty  of  11% (including 5% Custom Duty, 5% AIDC and 1% Cess) on import of cotton in India since 1 st February 2021.

Besides this, to boost export of textile products, Government extended continuation of Rebate of State and  Central  Taxes  and  Levies  (RoSCTL)  on  exports  of  Apparel/Garments  and  Made-ups.    Further, rebate under Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme is also available @3.1% of Freight On Board (FOB) value.    Government also provides financial support to various Export Promotion Councils and Trade Bodies engaged in promotion of textiles and garments exports for organizing and participating in trade fairs, exhibitions, buyer-seller meets etc.

Free Trade Agreements have been signed with UAE and Australia to access export market, which came into force from 01.05.2022 and 29.12.2022 respectively.

(b): State-wise production of cotton in India since 2014-15 is as under:

| State                                              | 2014-15                                            | 2015-16                                            | 2016-17                                            | 2017-18                                            | 2018-19                                            | 2019-20                                            | 2020-21                                            | 2021-222022-23 (P)                                 | 2021-222022-23 (P)                                 |
|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| Punjab                                             | 13.00                                              | 6.25                                               | 9.00                                               | 11.76                                              | 8.50                                               | 9.50                                               | 10.23                                              | 6.46                                               | 4.54                                               |
| Haryana                                            | 23.00                                              | 14.50                                              | 20.50                                              | 21.48                                              | 23.00                                              | 26.50                                              | 18.23                                              | 13.16                                              | 17.20                                              |
| Rajasthan                                          | 17.00                                              | 15.00                                              | 16.50                                              | 23.26                                              | 27.50                                              | 29.00                                              | 32.07                                              | 24.81                                              | 25.51                                              |
| North total                                        | 53.00                                              | 35.75                                              | 46.00                                              | 56.50                                              | 59.00                                              | 65.00                                              | 60.53                                              | 44.43                                              | 47.25                                              |
| Gujarat                                            | 112.00                                             | 90.00                                              | 95.00                                              | 103.84                                             | 90.00                                              | 89.00                                              | 72.18                                              | 75.09                                              | 87.12                                              |
| Maharashtra                                        | 80.00                                              | 76.00                                              | 88.50                                              | 83.35                                              | 76.00                                              | 87.00                                              | 101.05                                             | 82.49                                              | 81.85                                              |
| Madhya Pradesh                                     | 19.00                                              | 18.00                                              | 20.50                                              | 22.14                                              | 23.00                                              | 20.00                                              | 13.38                                              | 14.20                                              | 15.19                                              |
| Central total                                      | 211.00                                             | 184.00                                             | 204.00                                             | 209.33                                             | 189.00                                             | 196.00                                             | 186.61                                             | 171.78                                             | 184.16                                             |
| Telangana                                          | 50.50                                              | 58.00                                              | 48.00                                              | 54.44                                              | 42.00                                              | 54.00                                              | 57.97                                              | 48.78                                              | 54.41                                              |
| Andhra Pradesh                                     | 26.50                                              | 23.75                                              | 19.00                                              | 21.26                                              | 15.00                                              | 18.00                                              | 16.00                                              | 17.08                                              | 18.85                                              |
| Karnataka                                          | 34.00                                              | 19.50                                              | 18.00                                              | 17.32                                              | 16.00                                              | 20.00                                              | 23.20                                              | 19.55                                              | 21.48                                              |
| Tamil Nadu                                         | 6.00                                               | 6.00                                               | 5.00                                               | 5.50                                               | 6.00                                               | 6.00                                               | 2.43                                               | 3.02                                               | 3.56                                               |
| South Total                                        | 117.00                                             | 107.25                                             | 90.00                                              | 98.52                                              | 79.00                                              | 98.00                                              | 99.60                                              | 88.43                                              | 98.30                                              |
| Orissa                                             | 3.00                                               | 3.00                                               | 3.00                                               | 3.65                                               | 4.00                                               | 4.00                                               | 5.51                                               | 6.26                                               | 7.23                                               |
| Others                                             | 2.00                                               | 2.00                                               | 2.00                                               | 2.00                                               | 2.00                                               | 2.00                                               | 0.23                                               | 0.27                                               | 0.29                                               |
| Grand Total                                        | 386.00                                             | 332.00                                             | 345.00                                             | 370.00                                             | 333.00                                             | 365.00                                             | 352.48                                             | 311.17                                             | 337.23                                             |
| Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional | Source: COCPC meeting dated 24.03.23 P-Provisional |

Further, Labour Rate of Cotton (Rs./Hr)

| Sl. No.   | State            | Labour Rates (Rs/ hour)   | Labour Rates (Rs/ hour)   | Labour Rates (Rs/ hour)   | Labour Rates (Rs/ hour)   | Labour Rates (Rs/ hour)   |
|-----------|------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|
|           |                  | 2017-18                   | 2018-19                   | 2019-20                   | 2020-21                   | 2021-22                   |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh   | 53.75                     | 58.63                     | 70.86                     | 59.71                     | 65.06                     |
| 2         | Assam            | 37.59                     | 37.82                     | 39.60                     | 39.92                     | 41.48                     |
| 3         | Bihar            | 30.55                     | 33.04                     | 33.73                     | 34.66                     | 39.36                     |
| 4         | Chhattisgarh     | 26.10                     | 30.31                     | 34.00                     | 35.28                     | 34.44                     |
| 5         | Gujarat          | 29.17                     | 29.35                     | 32.08                     | 31.43                     | 35.16                     |
| 6         | Haryana          | 49.75                     | 51.45                     | 57.97                     | 59.21                     | 61.50                     |
| 7         | Himachal Pradesh | 51.07                     | 55.44                     | 55.31                     | 63.14                     | 66.06                     |
| 8         | Jharkhand        | 32.11                     | 32.06                     | 32.01                     | 37.85                     | 39.74                     |
| 9         | Karnataka        | 31.40                     | 32.13                     | 34.47                     | 42.32                     | 49.35                     |
| 10        | Kerala           | 100.29                    | 104.95                    | 108.60                    | 117.47                    | 117.88                    |
| 11        | Madhya Pradesh   | 30.19                     | 33.61                     | 36.88                     | 35.48                     | 36.64                     |
| 12        | Maharastra       | 29.10                     | 29.81                     | 31.23                     | 35.61                     | 39.14                     |
| 13        | Odisha           | 26.31                     | 31.59                     | 33.39                     | 32.49                     | 36.01                     |
| 14        | Punjab           | 48.29                     | 49.58                     | 51.44                     | 57.38                     | 54.47                     |
| 15        | Rajasthan        | 45.26                     | 50.91                     | 48.81                     | 50.95                     | 56.14                     |
| 16        | Tamil Nadu       | 49.10                     | 53.48                     | 57.14                     | 60.40                     | 62.85                     |
| 17        | Telangana        | -                         | -                         | -                         | 93.55                     | 98.36                     |
| 18        | Uttar Pradesh    | 29.02                     | 34.31                     | 36.13                     | 40.28                     | 42.35                     |
| 19        | Uttarakhand      | 40.15                     | 41.58                     | 42.52                     | 40.28                     | -                         |
| 20        | West Bengal      | 40.99                     | 43.33                     | 44.82                     | 44.84                     | 48.52                     |

- (c): Action taken by Government:
-  Constitution of a Textile Advisory Group (TAG) as an informal body comprising representative from Textile Industry/ Industry Associations and Other experts to deliberate and recommend on the issues pertaining to the entire cotton value chain including enhancing yield of cotton, crop protection measures, branding of cotton, farm mechanisation & development of cotton economy by promoting advanced technologies through holistic planning from farm to fashion.
-  The issue of use of colored fertilizer bags to avoid contamination in cotton is raised in one of the TAG  meeting  has  been  taken  up  with  Ministry of Chemical  and  Fertilizers.    Department  of Fertilizers has issued OM dated 24th August 2022 on 'One Nation One Fertilizer' which helps reduce of white contaminants in the cotton.
-  For creating awareness and extension services on Best Farm Practices to Improve Yield, Quality and  Sustainability  including  ginning  and  processing  practices,  a  pilot  project  starting  from March  2023  till  March  2024  has  been  taken  up  by  Cotton  Corporation  of  India  (CCI)  in association with ICAR-CICR and funded Rs. 2.54 crore.
-  Ministry  of  Agriculture  through  ICAR-CICR,  Nagpur  has  developed  a  Master  plan  titled 'targeting technologies to agro-ecological zones-large scale demonstrations of best practices to enhance cotton productivity' and sanctioned Rs. 41.87 crore for implementation of this project under national food Security Mission (NFSM). The project aim is targeting technologies such as High  Density  Planting  System  (HDPS),  closer  spacing  and  production  technology  for  ELS cotton has been sanctioned by Department of Agriculture & Farmer's Welfare (DoA&FW).
-  Government  of  India  issued  Quality  Control  Order  (QCO)  on  28.02.2023  for  mandatory certification of cotton bales to augment supply of good quality cotton.

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