NE BUSINESS BUREAU
COIMBATORE, OCT 8
The launch of the first Indian cotton brand ”Kasturi” will help textile manufacturers and exporters get better price realisation for their products in the international markets, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) said on Thursday.
Hailing the launch of the national brand by Textiles Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday on World Cotton Day, CITI Chairman T Rajkumar said it will enable the Indian cotton value chain to improve quality and emerge as one of the best in the world.
It would also facilitate production of high value-added products out of the same to sustain the growth, he said. Indian exporters at present do not get better prices on the cotton products due to poor quality of cotton fibre and contaminated cotton, Rajkumar said in a statement here.
The ongoing initiatives and various measures already taken by the government to improve productivity, quality and branding of Indian cotton and its products across the value chain will have a bright future and make it globally competitive, he said.
The World Cotton Day is more relevant for India as there has been a 25 to 30 per cent drop in cotton consumption across the global as well as in the country due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Rajkumar also said excess cotton stock to the tune of three to four times of normal stock level would be a challenge for India and the textile Ministry was already taking necessary steps to boost the exports of all products across the value chain apart from increasing the consumption domestically.
For example, cotton face mask and cotton lining materials in personal protection equipment (PPE) and increased medical textiles consumption have thrown very good opportunities for the country, he said.
Rajkumar appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce the Technology Mission on Cotton in a revised format with the Mission Mode approach that has already been recommended by the Textiles minister, the statement said.
