Now Reading: AEPC urges minister to regulate cotton yarn exports
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AEPC urges minister to regulate cotton yarn exports
The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has asked Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to consider regulating cotton yarn exports, especially of 20s count and above. In a letter to the minister, AEPC Chairman…
The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has asked Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to consider regulating cotton yarn exports, especially of 20s count and above. In a letter to the minister, AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel cited a sharp 60% rise in cotton yarn prices, from about Rs 250 per kg in early 2026 to around Rs 400 per kg now, which is squeezing the apparel manufacturing value chain.
The council also highlighted that rising costs of other raw materials and fuel are worsening the situation, and that large quantities of cotton have moved from farmers to traders, enabling hoarding and speculation. Sakthivel noted that US restrictions on Chinese cotton under the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act have boosted Indian cotton and yarn exports to Bangladesh and Vietnam, further driving up domestic raw material prices.
Indian Opinion Analysis
India exports roughly half its cotton yarn production, and apparel exporters have long argued that unfettered yarn exports starve domestic mills of raw material. The government typically resists outright bans but has used minimum export prices or licensing in past cotton cycles. With yarn prices at Rs 400 per kg, the margin for garment makers, who sell a kg of finished goods for Rs 800, 1,200, is wafer thin. The textile ministry, which oversees the Cotton Corporation of India, can release buffer stocks or tweak export policy. The next signal to watch is whether the Directorate General of Foreign Trade issues a notification on export curbs before the peak cotton arrival season in October.
Source: thehindubusinessline.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
