Dr A. Sakthivel, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, met Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and Shri Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, along with a delegation from the apparel industry and submitted representations seeking reduction of import duty on cotton from the existing 11 per cent to 0 per cent.
During the discussions, the delegation highlighted the challenges being faced by the apparel and textile industry due to high cotton prices and rising input costs. The industry representatives emphasised that India has recently entered into several Free Trade Agreements, creating significant opportunities for growth in textile and apparel exports. However, competing apparel exporting nations are able to access cotton at internationally competitive prices, whereas Indian manufacturers continue to face higher raw material costs due to the prevailing import duty structure.
The delegation stated that reduction in import duty on cotton is essential to help the Indian apparel industry secure greater business opportunities from FTA partner countries and enhance India’s competitiveness in the global market. The industry representatives highlighted that neighbouring competing countries enjoy better access to competitively priced raw materials, enabling them to offer more competitive pricing in international markets.
The delegation further stated that reducing the import duty on cotton would help align India’s competitiveness with neighbouring countries, ensure adequate raw material availability for the industry and support higher export growth, employment generation and investment across the textile value chain.
The industry representatives also pointed out that the textile industry’s cotton requirement for the current year is projected at around 337 lakh bales, while cotton arrivals for the 2025–26 season are estimated at only 292.15 lakh bales, resulting in a supply-demand gap of nearly 45 lakh bales. The shortfall is expected to increase pressure on spinning mills and downstream textile industries due to rising input costs and limited availability of quality raw material.
The delegation accompanying the AEPC Chairman included Shri K M Subramaniam, President, TEA, Shri Shanmugasundaram P, President, SIHMA, Shri Dhamodharan R, Secretary, SIHMA, Shri Mohanasundaram K, Trustee, TTPK, Shri Sudhakar K, Joint Secretary, DAT, Shri Krishnan P, President, TEKMA, Shri Srikanth T R, President, TEKPA and Shri Vivekanand N, President, SIIMKA.
