Centre weighs scrapping 11% cotton import duty till October as prices surge 10-15%
Apparel Export Promotion Council pushes for duty waiver as West Asia crisis lifts cotton prices 10-15%. India faces 45 lakh bale supply gap (337 lakh demand vs 292 lakh arrivals). Move aims to restore FTA competitiveness against Bangladesh and Vietnam textile exporters.
What happened
Apparel Export Promotion Council · Centre likely to scrap 11% cotton import duty till October to ease input costs for Indian textile and apparel manufacturers
Key facts
- 11% duty
- 10-15% price surge
- 15% raw cotton imports
- 20% yarn imports
- 337 lakh bales demand
- 292.15 lakh bales arrivals
- 45 lakh bales gap
Why this matters
Duty scrap plus FTA-parity push versus Bangladesh and Vietnam reopens the window for sourcing JVs and captive ginning tie-ups that were uneconomic at 11% landed cost.