SIMA urges Centre to reconsider hike in MSP for cotton

Coimbatore, Aug 28 (UNI) Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) Chairman K V Srinivasan has urged the Centre to reconsider the proposed hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for cotton as it affect the farmers and textile industry.

In a release here today, Dr Srinivasan said the proposed move by the Union Government to raise the MSP for medium staple cotton to Rs 2,500 from Rs 1,800 per quintal and from Rs 2,030 to Rs 3,000 per quintal for long staple cotton, an increase of 38 per cent and 47 percent respectively, would totally erode the competitiveness and affect the survival of textile industry.

He said the textile industry, which has been engulfed with various problems like increase in cotton prices, doubling of bank interest rates and power shortage was hoping for revival from the recession during the next cotton season. Against this backdrop, the proposed hike in MSP for cotton has come as a rude shock to the predominantly cotton-based textile industry.

The industry has been pushed from all corners and running the industry in the present scenario was difficult. If the problem was not addressed it might result in closure of textile units throwing several million people out of employment, he said.

The proposed hike in MSP might be attractive for the farmers in the short run, but it would seriously affect them in the long run due to drop in consumption of cotton in the domestic market, he pointed out.

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