Yarn mills to strike work; seek ban on cotton export

NEW DELHI: In a rare show of unity, trade unions and managements of over 3,000 textile yarn units will strike work on July 9 pressing for suspension of cotton exports and scrapping of import duty in view of rise in prices of the crucial raw material for the textile industry.

The strike call has been given by regional associations and is being supported by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).

The yarn mills facing a severe shortage of cotton are resorting to imports which they find expensive because of 14 per cent customs duty. Mills are demanding suspension of cotton exports till December when the new crop arrives.

Prices of a candy of cotton have shot up to Rs 30,000 per candy this month from Rs 21,000 per candy in January 2008.
"Prices have increased because the multinational traders have hoarded cotton. What is even worse is that the MNC traders are using the government-owned godowns for their hoarding operations," Deputy Chairman of Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) J Thulasidharan told media on telephone from Coimbatore.

He said all major yarn clusters in Coimbatore, Salem and Madurai will down shutters. There are about 2,200 mills in south India alone. "We are demanding regularisation of cotton exports. A large number of members of the North India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) have announced their participation in the strike and remaining would be joining soon," said Sunil Jain, President of NITMA.

Trade Union Citu has also extended support to the strike. "The government should accept the demands of the industry without any dealy," Citu president MK Pandhe said in a realese.