Cotton Imports Set to Rise as Customs Duty Ends

09-Sep-2025 10:41 AM

Mumbai. A 50 percent tariff has been imposed in the US on the import of Indian textile products, with the aim of eliminating or reducing its adverse effect, the Government of India felt the need to cut the cost of the textile industry and hence it withdrew the customs duty of 11 percent imposed on the import of cotton.

The price of cotton is soft in the international market, while the domestic production of cotton is also likely to decrease in the marketing season of 2025-26 (October-September).

The reason for this is that on one hand the sowing area of ​​cotton has decreased and on the other hand the crop has also been damaged due to floods and rains.

The difficulty of Indian cotton producers may increase due to the import of huge quantities of cotton from abroad as its price may come down.

To overcome this crisis, the government has announced to buy unlimited quantity of cotton from farmers at the minimum support price.

The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), an agency under the Union Textiles Ministry, has said that this time a record number of purchase centers have been opened in the country for the purchase of cotton and all the cotton of normal average quality that reaches these purchase centers will be purchased.

The minimum support price (MSP) of cotton has also been increased by Rs 589 to Rs 7710 per quintal for medium staple category and Rs 8110 per quintal for long staple varieties. This will provide relief to the producers.

America is the most important market for Indian textile products, but due to the heavy tariff of 50 percent there, its price has become uncompetitive.

The competitiveness of prices can improve when the cost of textile products decreases due to cheap imported cotton.