Cotton prices below MSP, farmers accuse pvt buyers of fleecing

Perneet Singh

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Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 13

Farmers continue to complain of being fleeced by private buyers, as the cotton prices are still hovering below the MSP of Rs 5,450 per quintal. Nevertheless, the prices have recovered from the lows and crossed Rs 5,100 mark.

The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), which was earlier staying away from procurement due to high moisture content, has also stepped in and purchased 47,500 quintals of cotton from markets like Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar and Fazilka. Sources said the agency had gradually increased its purchase, as cotton produce arriving in the market these days had moisture content within permissible limits.

Earlier, there was hardly any heap of cotton in the market that had moisture within the agency’s specified limits, they sources. However, the agency is still not able to make purchase in a big way, as a majority of the farmers are averse to the idea of selling their produce directly to the CCI. They contend that they “cannot afford to ignore the arhtiyas with whom they share age-old bond”.

India Cotton Association Limited (ICAL) president Mahesh Sharda attributed low cotton prices to the fact that the cotton trade these days was “overstretched with paucity of funds”. He said it was either cash rich mills or the CCI that was making the purchase. He, however, felt that the CCI was only making “selective purchase”.

Apparently hinting at the CCI’s direct purchase clause, he said the rules should not be so rigid that the purpose was not served. He said one could not expect to delink the arhtiyas overnight from the process, of which they had been a part for years now. As per an estimate, about 2.25 lakh bales of cotton have arrived in the markets across the state till now.

Meanwhile, farmers are a dejected lot, as they feel that they are not getting remunerative prices. Gurjant Singh, a farmer from Shergarh village, said his cotton fetched Rs 5,150 per quintal, which was inadequate in view of the increasing input costs.