Cotton exports may grow 18% in 2015-16: Union Textile Minister Santosh Gangwar

NEW DELHI: The country's cotton shipments are expected to rise by about 18 per cent in 2015-16 as against the previous fiscal, the government said today.

Citing estimates of the Cotton Advisory Board, Union Textile Minister Santosh Gangwar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha: "The exports from India for 2015-16 are expected to increase by about 18 per cent compared with the previous year."

The cotton year is from October to September.

The minister added that during the cotton year of 2014-15 (from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015), 57.72 lakh bales of raw cotton were exported as against 116.96 lakh bales during the cotton year of 2013-14.

"The decline in exports was due to substantial reduction in import by China," Gangwar said.