Apparel exporters urge commerce minister to regulate cotton yarn exports

Apparel exporters on Saturday urged Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to consider steps to regulate cotton yarn exports to contain rising prices of the yarn as it is hurting competitiveness of the industry.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel in a communication to the minister said rising prices of raw cotton and cotton yarn are increasing due to supply-side constraints.

The limited stock availability with ginners and reduced arrivals have resulted in mills relying increasingly on CCI (Cotton Corporation of India) auctions.

He said substantial quantity of cotton has moved from farmers to traders, contributing to hoarding and speculative practices in the market.

"AEPC has urged the minister to consider suitable measures to regulate the export of cotton yarn, particularly 20s count and above, in view of the sharp increase in yarn prices and the growing pressure on the competitiveness of India's apparel export industry," Sakthivel said.

Cotton yarn prices have .