Kasturi Cotton India, the branding exercise for Indian cotton, which was initiated by Ministry of Textiles (MoT) last year on World Cotton Day, has not given expected results so far.
During the launch, it was said that India’s premium Cotton is known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton Trade. The Kasturi Cotton brand represents whiteness, brightness, softness, purity, lustre, uniqueness and Indianness. The purpose for this branding exercise was to build the image of Indian cotton at global level – vocal for local in the field of cotton.
Addressing a webinar of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Upendra Pratap Singh, Textile Secretary said that they have not been able to take it forward and industry’s involvement is a must for the desirable result for this initiative.
Recently, Textile Committee also made a presentation in this regard to the MoT. The MoT officials insisted that Ministries alone can’t do this branding as a programme and the industry also has to be properly involved to make Kasturi a well-known brand. And it is very much possible as India also has some varieties that are as good as any other cotton available in the world.
However, India doesn’t get premium for these good varieties as they are not known as a brand. Therefore, branding of cotton is very important.
It is important to mention here that India is facing challenges regarding cotton at various levels.
The Secretary also said that since last decade, India’s cotton production and productivity have been stagnant and due to increasing urbanisation and industrialisation, area for cotton cultivation is also under stress. The only solution is to increase the cotton productivity. India’s cotton production is around 350 to 360 lakh bales annually.
He also insisted that the industry should focus on the production of Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton. The industry is insisting to withdraw the cotton import duty, which is severely hurting the global competitiveness of the Indian textile and clothing Industry.
MoT also discussed cotton-related issues with the Ministry of Agriculture and is trying to find the solutions.
India produces around 25 per cent cotton of the world. The yield per kilogram hectare, which is presently 459 kg/ha, is still lower compared to the world average yield of about 757 kg /ha.
Also Read: India must aspire to be in world’s top 3 in cotton productivity: Textile Minister
