CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove the 11 per cent import duty on cotton, contending that the levy was aggravating the crisis faced by Tamil Nadu's textile and apparel industry amid steep escalation in raw material prices.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Vijay said Tamil Nadu continued to remain the country's largest textile and apparel exporting State and that lakhs of workers, particularly women from rural and semi-urban regions, were dependent on the sector for livelihood through direct and indirect employment.
The Chief Minister said the industry was reeling under severe stress following a sharp increase in cotton and yarn prices in recent months. He attributed the trend to lower domestic cotton production and heightened trading activity in the market.
According to Vijay, cotton prices had risen from Rs 54,700 to Rs 67,700 per candy over the last two months, registering an increase of nearly 25 per cent, while yarn prices had climbed from Rs 301 to Rs 330 per kilogram.
"In the present circumstances, uninterrupted supply of raw material can be ensured only through imports. However, cotton imports continue to attract an 11 per cent duty," he said.
Arguing that duty-free imports would help the sector meet export commitments and retain global competitiveness, Vijay said the textile and apparel industry remained one of the country's largest employment generators after agriculture.
He said protecting jobs and sustaining the textile value chain was a crucial responsibility and urged the Centre to reduce the import duty on cotton from 11 per cent to zero. The move, he stressed, would help boost exports and provide stability to the industry.