Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Woolly headed

Woolly headed

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Mar 9, 2012   modified Modified on Mar 9, 2012
-The Indian Express
 
Banning cotton exports hurts the farmer, signals India as an unpredictable supplier to the world

Two days after the commerce ministry imposed a sudden ban on cotton exports, there are indications the government is preparing grounds for a facesaver. In all likelihood, a limited window may be opened at least for allowing exports for which registration certificates have already been issued by the Directorate General for Foreign Trade. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is trying to assuage frayed tempers talking to Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who on Tuesday complained to the prime minister that he was kept in the dark about the ban. A decision is likely at a ministerial panel meet on Friday. But clearly, such an ad hoc decision is a terrible signal the government can give to investors. For one, the ban comes at a time when India, the second largest cotton producer, is expected to see a bumper crop (cotton cycle starts October 1 and ends September 30). It also eats into its pro-reform and pro-farmer credentials because it deprives the farmer, the stakeholder at the bottom of the value chain, of the best price for his produce.

Cotton farmers have already been hit hard this year on account of a sharp drop in prices, both at home and internationally. On Wednesday, ginners in Gujarat went on a two-day strike protesting the ban which has resulted in prices plummeting by seven per cent over the last few days. With India banning exports, international prices climbed around 5 per cent. There can’t be a bigger letdown for farmers, who have progressively increased the acreage under cotton, thanks to the advent of Bt cultivation. Production in cotton season 2010-11 was at 325 lakh bales (one bale being 170 kg) compared with 305 lakh bales in the previous year. The acreage under cotton in 2011-12 is estimated at a record level of 121 lakh hectares compared with 111.43 lakh hectares in the previous year. This is the third successive year the government has resorted to an export ban, making India a very unpredictable supplier in the global market.

Most importantly, the textiles ministry’s fig leaf that domestic home textiles and garments industry will be rendered uncompetitive, since unbridled exports would pose constraints on availability at home, is untenable. Countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam have been gaining market share at India’s cost despite not having any significant local raw material base. Simply put, India is less efficient than these countries. The ban on exports will only disincentivise cotton growers, reduce acreage and hurt agricultural output.

The Indian Express, 9 March, 2012, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/woolly-headed/921625/


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close