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India’s premium cotton would henceforth be identified as “Kasturi” in the world cotton trade, said Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, launching the first-ever Indian cotton brand and logo on World cotton Day.
Kasturi Cotton will stand out for its whiteness, brightness, softness, purity, luster, uniqueness and Indianness, the minister said, speaking at a webinar organised jointly by Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), The Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council and The Cotton Corporation of India Ltd along with Ministry of Textiles. The theme of the meet was “New-Look Cotton”.
Irani observed that India’s production of organic cotton is about 51 per cent of the global total. “Hence, enhanced production and better utilisation of this cotton, especially, the extra long staple, will enhance our share in the world cotton trade.”
Indian trade
“World Cotton Day is more relevant for India as there has been a 25-30 per cent drop in cotton consumption across the globe as well as in India due to Covid-19,” said CITI Chairman T Rajkumar, conceding that the excess cotton stock, estimated at least three-four times the normal holding, would be a challenge for the country.
The Textiles Ministry is taking steps to boost exports of all products across the value chain apart from increasing the consumption domestically.
Rajkumar pointed out that Indian exporters at present did not get better prices on cotton products due to poor quality of the fibre and contamination. The launch of a national brand would therefore enable the Indian cotton value chain to improve quality and facilitate production of high value-added products to sustain the growth.
The association has reiterated its demand for the announcement of a technology mission on cotton in a revised format.
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