Suspension of procurement by private traders worries cotton farmers in Adilabad

Adilabad district Agro Industries Association president Raju Chintawar told ‘Telangana Today’ that the CCI set a cap on the quantity of cotton being procured by the ginning mills.

Adilabad: Restrictions imposed by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) on procurement of cotton produce irked the private traders of the district. The traders called for suspension of purchasing the cotton from Monday onwards. The decision of the traders was seen as a double blow for farmers, who were struggling to sell their cotton.

Adilabad district Agro Industries Association president Raju Chintawar told ‘Telangana Today’ that the CCI set a cap on the quantity of cotton being procured by the ginning mills. The restrictions would cause losses to mills and farmers as well. Mills that do not get opportunity to buy the cotton would not be able to register profits, while farmers would have to bear additional cost to transport the produce, he explained.

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The owners said that the mills were classed as Level-1, Level-2 and Level-3 based on their capacity to procure and process the cotton. For instance, mills categorized as Level-2 would not be allowed to procure the cotton until a mill classified as Level-1 achieves the target set for it. Similarly, farmers need to shift the produce to a mill instead of nearby ones.

Already, farmers were reeling under crisis due to a dip in minimum support price (MSP) offered by the private traders. They are now selling the cotton for around Rs 6,700 per quintal with 12 percent of moisture as against the MSP Rs 7,521 fixed by the CCI. They expressed concern over the suspension of the cotton by the traders. They requested the government to take steps to address the issue.

Additionally, the growers are levied a commission of 2.5 percent on the cost of the produce, besides hamali charge of Rs 25 per quintal. They are losing out around Rs 700 per quintal. Officials said that 1.23 lakh quintals of cotton was procured in Adilabad district so far. While the CCI purchased 50,073 quintals, private traders procured 73,558 quintals till Saturday.