Gujarat ginners back to work in full swing

A spurt in demand from cotton yarn makers, coupled with fresh arrival of cotton from farms, has pumped fresh oxygen into the ailing ginning industry in Gujarat, and most of the closed ginning mills have resumed functioning in full swing.

A couple of months ago, almost 80% of the 1,000-odd ginning mills in Gujarat were either closed or partially functioning. The Covid-led slowdown, sluggish domestic and exports demand, and inadequate supply of cotton had forced most ginners to shut operations.

Ahead of Diwali, fresh orders from spinners started pouring in. At the same time, fresh cotton started to arrive in the mandis. As a result, nearly 80% of the ginners have resume operations.

“The entire textile value chain is experiencing unprecedented demand. The spinning industry is witnessing a bullish trend following heavy demand of cotton yarn in domestic as well as export markets,” Bharat Boghara, president of the Spinners Association of Gujarat, said.

Currently, around 50,000 bales (170 kg per bale) are being processed at ginning mills across Gujarat.

Overall demand has resulted in a price hike, said Avadhesh Sejpal, president of the Saurashtra Cotton-Seeds-Oil Cake Brokers Association. “Cotton prices were hovering around Rs 40,000 per bale in October. Post Diwali, prices are at around Rs 41,500 to Rs 42,500 per bale,” he said.

Farmers are also happy with the way things are going as they are getting a healthy rate for the yield. They are getting Rs 900 to Rs 1,200 per 20 kg in the open market as per the quality of their produce. The government has fixed a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,155.

This year, India’s cotton production is projected at around 3.7 crore bales. Farmers in Gujarat have focused on groundnut this year, which will impact cotton production in the state by 10%. But cotton sowing has increased in other Indian states, sources said.