BT COTTON SEEDS

CII QUEERS THE PITCH FOR MONSANTO,
URGES MORE PRESSURE BY AP FOR PRICE REDUCTION BY MNC

The CII has queered the pitch for Mahyco-Monsanto by urging the government of Andhra Pradesh to bring pressure on the multinational subsidiary to further reduce the prices of its BT cotton seeds sold in the state.

This is one of the suggestions made by the apex industry body among a host of other recommendations necessary to achieve the $8 bn potential by the textile industry in the state by 2015.

The CII advice to AP comes even as the Indian subsidiary of Monsanto has approached Supreme Court against an order by the MRTPC last week directing it to reduce the “trait value” of 450 grams of BT cotton seeds to the same as those charged in China by it.

The CII suggestion is based on a study of the AP textile industry based on which the industry body has urged the stage government to bring pressure on Monsanto to further reduce prices as it was necessary to continuously increase cotton production in the state.

Monsanto in its appeal to the Supreme Court has justified the higher price tag as the seeds sold here is of a higher quality and resistant to bollworm and higher yielding variety.

“With the increasing productivity in cotton and capacity addition in spindlage, AP has high potential to go up the textile value chain. The state’s weaving, processing and garment industry will utilize over 70% of the cotton production by 2015, a significant jump from 35-40% in 2005,” the study expects the CII said on Wednesday.

AP is the third largest producer of cotton in the India accounting for 15-16% of the production.

Cotton production in the state will grow at a CAGR of 7% while farmers will shift to cotton growing from other cash crops like chilly and tobacco, the study says.

Hence, CII also urges the government to provide sops for the manufacture of technical textiles, encourage setting up of more auto looms and facilitate setting up of processing units at coastal belts where there is no water scarcity. Significantly it has also called upon the state government to set up a 2500 acre textile city.

It has also recommended the setting up of more Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) with the Government holding 40% equity while the private sector will hold 60% for the maintenance and sharing of common resources in the textile/apparel parks being set up in the state.