Cotton Export Ban -Commerce Minister Anand Sharma is misleading nation –VJAS

Cotton Export Ban -Commerce Minister Anand Sharma is misleading nation –VJAS

Nagpur-March 7 2012

**The decision for imposing ban has been taken ‘to favors one of the big corporates Reliance Industries limited who is likely to get maximum benefit from this untimely stage managed embargo ’, he alleged while seeking CBI probe into the matter.**

The ban which has shocked Ministry of Textiles as well as Ministry of agriculture

but today Commerce Minister Anand Sharma defended the government’s decision to ban cotton exports and said he will personally speak to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to explain the issue.

Sharad pawar had raised strong objection to cotton export ban and said that he was kept in dark on the issue and prime minister has asked GOM meeting to revoke the recent which is needless and grounds given by the commerce ministry are baseless has no support from concerning ministries even textile mills owners are not supporting argument of commerce who said that ..countenance a situation where the country which is a major cotton producer is forced to import at much higher prices to meet the domestic demand of the industry. That is why, it was a judicious and considered view taken, which is misleading and ill motivated informed farm activist Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti VJAS who are protesting the commerce ministry decision and this will adversely effect more than 7 million cotton growers of India mostly debt trapped and killing themselves due to on going agrarian crisis.

“when Indian domestic demand is just 20 million bales as against national production of 33 million bales there is no reason put restrictions when interest of domestic textile mills are fully protected .the decision to ban Indian cotton export is another example rampant corruption going on in UPA Govt. there is big names involved in the sudden export ban will expose the all misdeeds of commerce ministry hence for the first time farmers suicide issue has given focus of wrong policies of state ,we will see that the truth is prevailed” Tiwari added.

Close on the heels of Ministry of Commerce imposing ban on cotton exports apprehending shortfall domestic market and hoarding in warehouse abroad, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar urged the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to lift the ban. Cotton growers from Vidarbha have hailed Pawar’s move and have dubbed ban on cotton export as ‘unjust, unholy and unwanted’.

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti VJAS chief Kishor Tiwari alleged that the ban was a result of large scale massive corruption in Ministry of Commerce. “We will file public interest litigation in this regard before Nagpur bench of Mumbai High Court so that cotton growers get justice,” stated Tiwari in a release issued here.

According to Tiwari, cotton exports have been banned to ensure supplies for domestic mills and boosting global prices as absence of shipment from the world’s second largest producer might tighten a market that is facing weak demand. The move is ‘baseless and ill-motivated’ in a meeting of Group of Ministers to be held on March 9.

The ban has raised eyebrows of farm activists and cotton-growers from Vidarbha region, where cotton farmers are committing suicides due to agrarian crisis and cotton price failure, which is a result of export restrictions and monopolies of few MNCs that are controlling total input-output of cotton crop. The ban has surprised Ministry of Textiles as well as Ministry of agriculture. Dubbing the move to ban cotton export as ‘deep-rooted scam effected by a handful of babus in Ministry of Commerce’, VJAS chief has written to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture to order CBI probe into the export ban order.

Tiwari pointed out the cotton production in India was around 34 million bales as against domestic demand of 20 million bales. Last year, there was stock of 8 million bales. There is less demand in domestic market and hence cotton prices are around Rs.3,500 per quintal as against global prices that are above Rs. 5,000 per quintal. Hence, all arguments of Ministry of Commerce for imposing ban on cotton export are ridiculous, he added.

The decision for imposing ban has been taken ‘to favors one of the big corporates Reliance Industries limited who is likely to get maximum benefit from this untimely stage managed embargo ’, he alleged while seeking CBI probe into the matter.