New Delhi [India], August 29 : The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has urged the Union government to withdraw its decision to extend the exemption on cotton import duty till December 31, warning that the move could harm domestic farmers and push India towards import dependency. The appeal was made in a letter addressed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
According to the letter, the BKS stated that India's cotton production stands at around 320 lakh bales, while domestic demand is approximately 391 lakh bales. A standard bale of cotton weighs approximately 170 kilograms (kg) in India.
Mills estimate that around 60-70 lakh bales are usually imported every year, which accounts for nearly 12 per cent of the country's total cotton use.
The farmers' body noted that this year, the area under cotton cultivation has fallen by 3.2 per cent compared to the previous year. "If the availability of domestic cotton seed does not increase, India, instead of being an exporter of cotton, will become an importer country," the BKS warned in the letter.
It said that cotton prices had already fallen from Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 6,000 per quintal after the announcement, and if duty-free imports continue till December, prices may dip further. "If cotton is imported at only Rs. 2,000 per quintal, then will anyone buy from our farmers at Rs. 5,000 per quintal?" the BKS questioned in the letter.
The Ministry of Finance had initially granted an exemption on cotton import duty from August 11 to September 30, 2025. However, the recent decision extended this exemption until the end of December.
General Secretary of BKS, Mohan Mitra, stressed that the government must reconsider the decision. "If the government does not stop this exemption decision of cotton import, then India, instead of being self-reliant, will become dependent on foreigners in the cotton sector," he wrote in the letter to the finance minister.
The letter concluded with an appeal to withdraw the notification immediately, stating that ensuring better prices for domestic cotton would encourage farmers and protect the sector from sliding into dependence. A copy of the letter was also sent to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
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