COIMBATORE : The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) has advised its members and other mills to avoid panic buying of cotton and not to believe in the rumours or misinformation shared by a few.
The Association has urged the Mills to plan their purchase according to the statements and reports issued by the Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption (COCPC).Dr S K Sundararaman, Chairman, of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), has advised the actual users of cotton, especially the cotton textile mills to rely only on the estimates published by the Office of the Textile Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, based on the recommendations made by the Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption (COCPC) periodically and ignore press statements or information given by any other body.
Earlier, he advised the mills to avoid panic buying when the cotton price suddenly increased from the level of Rs 55,300 to Rs 61,500 per candy of 355 kilogramme during the second fortnight of February as the cotton supply position was very comfortable.
He reiterated the same, pointing out that the International Cotton Advisory Committee has also stated that the higher cotton prices are being driven by speculation and not based on fundamentals. SIMA Chairman has stated that the COCPC at its second meeting for the cotton season 2023-24 held on March 14, 2024 has projected the opening stock as 61 lakh bales, crop as 323 lakh bales, imports as 12 lakh bales, mill consumption as 301 lakh bales, non-mill consumption as 16 lakh bales, export as 27 lakh bales and predicted a comfortable closing stock of 52 lakh bales. He further stated that these estimates are more scientific and advised all the stakeholders in the textile value chain to rely on COCPC data relating to cotton. SIMA has again advised the mills to be cautious while procuring cotton for inventory purposes.
SIMA Chief has highly appreciated the CCI (Cotton Corporation of India) for giving priority to actual users of cotton, especially the MSME units. Though there was a panic situation, now the fear factor started vanishing due to the timely intervention of the CCI and its encouraging trading policies, said Dr Sundararaman.