Bathinda: India’s cotton imports hit a record high in 2024–25 (Oct–Sept), surging to 4.13 million bales worth Rs 11,989 crore — nearly three times the previous year’s volume. The surge marked the highest import level in five years, with the US emerging as the biggest contributor, Union textiles minister Giriraj Singh said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, while quoting data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.Except for 2023–24, India imported the maximum quantity of cotton from the US in the last five years. In 2024–25, the US exported 8,56,000 bales, followed by 854,000 by Brazil and 849,000 by Australia. In 2023–24, Australia remained the biggest exporter when it exported 358,000 bales, followed by 268,000 bales imported from the US. In 2022–23, the US exported a maximum of 457,000 bales; in 2021–22, it exported 773,000 bales; and in 2020–21, the USA exported a maximum of 430,000 bales to India.
Even as the country witnessed a big jump in cotton imports in 2024–25, the Union govt exempted 11% import duty on cotton in 2025–26. This included 5% basic customs duty, 5% agriculture infrastructure and development cess (AIDC), and 1% social welfare surcharge, from August 19, 2025 to December 31, 2025, and it was reinstated from January 1, 2026.Farmers in Punjab said they were already facing precarious conditions, and the exemption from import duty lowered cotton prices in the local market. Due to this, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) made certain purchases at the minimum support price.The reply said the govt protects cotton farmers by announcing MSP, based on Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) recommendations, state and central inputs, and production costs, ensuring that farmers receive a minimum of 1.5 times the cost of production (A2+FL) for their produce. The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) undertakes procurement under MSP whenever market prices fall below MSP. For the 2025–26 cotton season, CCI opened 571 procurement centres across 149 districts in 11 cotton-growing states, and procured over 9,054,000 bales so far.Duty exemptions on cotton imports ensure sufficient availability of quality raw material, supporting value addition, boosting employment, and enhancing exports, thereby generating higher indirect revenue.Lok Sabha member G Kumar Naik asked for details of cotton imported by the country and details of the top 10 importing countries during each of the last 5 years; whether the govt exempted import duties on cotton for the current financial year; whether any assessment or survey was conducted by the govt regarding the impact of cotton import duty exemption on domestic cotton farmers; the measures being proposed by the govt to protect the interest of cotton farmers while simultaneously addressing the requirements of the textile industry; and details of the impact of cotton duty exemption on govt revenue.
