Cotton farmers in Telangana in for a big marketing crisis

Telangana’s 341 ginning mills have boycotted Cotton Corporation of India tenders, protesting new procurement rules that they say are impractical and harmful to business. The standoff, amid heavy rain damage, threatens to push cotton farmers into a deeper financial crisis.

Hyderabad: Cotton farmers in the State, already battered by heavy rains, are on the verge of a big marketing crisis. The State’s 341 ginning mills have refused to participate in tenders issued by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), citing severe hardships with new regulations. This stand off is likely to jeopardize their operations of the ginning mills and the livelihoods of growers.

The impasse was sparked by the latest tender guidelines, introduced this season. The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has rolled out tougher rules this cotton season for buying raw cotton from farmers and ginners. Key changes include strict ways to measure cotton fibre (lint) yield, fixed slots for the lowest (L1) and second-lowest (L2) bids in auctions.

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It also required detailed farm area maps for every order. Ginners in Telangana and their associations complained that these regulations differ from last year’s lenient setup, adding red tape and delays that hurt business and farmers. This standoff has stalled trades, sparking protests for a rollback.

“We have urged the CCI to thoroughly review these clauses, particularly the lint percentage for L1 slot bookings and area mapping, and revert to the policy followed in the previous season,” a ginning mill operator and association member stated, adding that without these adjustments, participating in the tenders was not viable.

“We’re not against procurement; we’re against rules that could lead to losses for everyone involved, from mills to farmers,” he said.

The boycott has persisted despite high-level meetings, where ginning mill owners and the CCI officials discussed the contentious terms. Discussions dragged on for days, but no consensus emerged, leaving the tenders untouched.

As of now, not a single mill has come forward to bid, stalling the process at a critical juncture. Telangana’s cotton sector, spanning 43.29 lakh acres, was projected to yield around 24.70 lakh quintals this year. However, relentless heavy rains have inflicted severe damage, impacting expected outputs and leaving farmers vulnerable.

The ginning mills’ reluctance is seen as a direct blow to these growers, who rely on timely procurement at support prices to avoid distress sales. State marketing officials, acting on directives of the Government to resolve the deadlock, traveled to Delhi on October 1 for talks with central government authorities.

They highlighted how the new rules could spark operational bottlenecks in the procurement chain. In response, officials assured some way out in a week or two. The clauses should be based on ground realities, while facilitating recalibration of lint percentages every 15 days for fairer implementation. The rest of the regulations, however, will remain unchanged, they said.

Undeterred by the partial concessions, the mills are holding firm. They remained stuck to their guns demanding full policy rollback to ensure smooth operations and protect the supply chain.