After the Bt Cotton boom, Indian farmers are all set to reap rich dividends from a slump in cotton spinning in Britain.
Recently, cotton spinning was totally stopped in the UK because import became cheaper for companies than domestic manufacture.
As a result, raw cotton, yarn and textile industries in India and far-eastern nations are set to benefit immensely. According to sources, cotton product exports from these nations will increase manifold in near future as cotton spinning activities in Europe and the US are also declining drastically.
However, Indian exporters have to strictly follow the international standards to cash in on this situation. Absence of uniform quality has been the main weakness of Indian cotton export trade.
Another factor is agreeable credit terms and overall financial soundness of exporters, where Indian cotton exporters, particularly new and young breed of exporters, need improvement.
The excellent quality of medium and short staple cotton and globally competitive prices are main strengths of Indian cotton export now. In cotton year 2006-07 (October-September) India is likely to overtake the US and become world's second largest cotton producer after China.
However, the US could bounce back following its revised farm production legislation, policies and programmes.
In value terms, India stood fourth after China, Australia and Uzbekistan in cotton sector. Nevertheless, India has fully exploited its potential to move ahead in world cotton market both value and volume-wise.
Another area India should focus now is higher cotton export to Pakistan because Pakistan produced only 12.3 million bales in 2006-07, far lower than initial estimates.
Bt Cotton was one of the lead factors that raised cotton production recently in India. Farm technique improvement, equipment upgradation and better basic farming practice were other factors responsible for higher cotton production in India.
All these issues will be discussed threadbare at a cotton conference organised by Cotton Outlook, a UK-based journal, in Mumbai on March 15 and 16.
