CCI chips in, cotton growers relieved

Bathinda

The Cotton Corporation of India’s (CCI’s) entry into the market in a big way in the last month has come as a major relief for the farmers who were earlier complaining of being fleeced by private buyers, as the cotton prices were hovering around Rs 5,000-5,200 per quintal, below the MSP of Rs 5,450 per quintal.Sources said the CCI had procured 3.5 lakh quintals of cotton in the state till now, of which 3 lakh quintals had been purchased in the last one month alone. This has come as a big boost for the cotton farmers, as the CCI had not made big purchases in the last few years.

Last time, it was in 2014-15 when the CCI had procured 6.25 lakh quintals of cotton from Punjab, said the sources. The agency has been making brisk purchase from centres like Bathinda, Mansa, Abohar, Fazilka, Malout, Sardulgarh and Budhlada. Sources in the CCI said they had not expected the farmers to come forward for direct sale of their produce to the agency, as the farming community didn’t want to antagonise the arhtiyas in the previous years. In the past, the farmers would often argue that they could not go against the arhtiyas, as they are the ones who extend them financial aid in their hour of need throughout the year. However, now with the changing trend, the agency is expecting to procure 10 lakh quintals of cotton in the state by the end of the season.

Talking to The Tribune, Indian Cotton Association Limited president Mahesh Sharda said the farmers had got good support from the CCI. He said the spinning mills too were doing well in terms of cotton purchase as the produce was available at cheaper price.

He said the CCI had been procuring 50,000 quintals of cotton per day in North India. He said the trend augured well for Punjab as the area under cotton might go up. Cotton trader Ashok Kapur also felt that the CCI’s entry had at least ensured that the farmers would get the MSP. He said the farmers were earlier at the mercy of private buyers, as there was a lot of fluctuation in the market due to slowdown.

BKU Ekta Ugrahan leader Shangara Singh Mann hailed the CCI move, stating that it had offered at least some support to the farmers who were “being openly looted” by private buyers. He said the unions had also been pushing the farmers to break free from the clutches of arhtiyas and opt for the direct purchase by the CCI.

He alleged that the farmers were suffering losses of Rs 500-700 per quintal before the CCI stepped into the market. He said the farmer unions had also confronted arhtiyas in places like Mansa and Goniana Mandi where they were opposing the direct purchase of cotton by the CCI.