Maharashtra irked with Maran for banning cotton export

MUMBAI: The Centre’s decision to ban cotton export has irked Maharashtra. A section of the state leadership has sought UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's attention to lift the ban, while the state government put the blame on textile minister Dayanidhi Maran for taking this ‘insensitive’ decision.

Minister for food and civil supplies Anil Deshmukh on Thursday criticised Mr Maran for imposing ban on cotton export. "Media reports saying Union Cabinet has imposed a ban on cotton export are not true. The fact is DMK leader Mr Maran is under pressure of private textile mills owners and to make available cotton at cheaper rates to them, has imposed a ban," Mr Deshmukh, a senior NCP leader, said.

According to him the ban was not in the best interest of cotton growers who are suffering losses to the tune of Rs 500 per quintal. Defending party boss Sharad Pawar, the minister said due to hectic efforts of Mr Pawar, for the first time, the support price of cotton has increased by 48%. Cotton growers have benefited by this, he added.

Mr Deshmukh, however, admitted that ban on cotton export has decreased the cotton prices besides increase in area of cotton cultivation. A delegation of cotton growers from the region would soon meet Ms Gandhi to apprise her the problems, he said. He, however, evaded a direct answer to a query that only 15% of cotton was left with farmers and the move will only benefit traders and not cotton growers.

Mr Deshmukh's statement on cotton export ban came a week after Minister for Social Justice Shivajirao Moghe, who hails from cotton growing Yavatmal district, called on Ms Gandhi and urged her to use her good offices in lifting ban on cotton export.

Mr Moghe met Ms Gandhi at her residence last week and apprised her of the plight of thousands of cotton growers in the suicide-prone Vidarbha region.

"The Congress president was surprised to learn about the misery of cotton growers who have been denied appropriate prices to their produce and export in the international market for fetching handsome remunerative prices," Mr Moghe had said later.

He said due to the ban imposed on cotton export, the prices of cotton have come down by Rs 400 to Rs 500 per quintal. Mr Moghe before meeting Ms Gandhi in New Delhi also met agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and apprised him about the plight of cotton growers in Vidarbha.

He said the Centre has clamped a ban on export of cotton, some one and half months back when the prices of cotton were prevailing at Rs 3,300 which have now dropped to Rs 2,800 per quintal.