Hyderabad: The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has agreed to relax its new regulations for cotton purchases following a strike by ginning mills and protests by farmers in Telangana.
The procurement process, which had come to a standstill, will resume immediately as officials prepare to release further details.
On Monday, a meeting facilitated by the state government took place between CCI managing director Lalit Kumar Gupta and representatives from the Telangana Cotton Association and the Telangana Ginning Mills Association. During this meeting, they discussed various contentious issues.
After receiving assurances from CCI officials, ginning mill owners and traders consented to restart cotton procurement.
Telangana is home to approximately 318 ginning mills that recently began cotton procurement. Farmers have voiced concerns about receiving payments that are nearly Rs 1,000-1,500 less than the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 7,521 per quintal for high-quality cotton.
Ginning mill owners attributed the payment discrepancies to CCI’s actions, stating that while the corporation initially agreed to pay Rs 1,345 per cotton bale, they later offered a lower price due to excessive moisture content exceeding the permitted 12%.
Additionally, CCI’s stringent regulations categorized ginning mills into tiers (L-1, L-2, and L-3), limiting their ability to procure paddy in a phased manner.
As tensions escalated, both the Telangana Cotton Association and Telangana Ginning Mills Association halted cotton purchases statewide, putting farmers in a precarious position.
Many farmers arriving at procurement centres on Monday found their sales halted and responded with protests across various regions of the state.
In response to prevent further escalation, the state government intervened to mediate between CCI and the ginning mills’ owners to resolve the ongoing issues.
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