Guntur: Cotton farmers are in a piquant situation with the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) unable to strike a deal with ginning mills for launching procurement centres during the upcoming season. The CCI, which has already extended the deadline for the finalisation of bids through tenders twice, is virtually clueless about resolving the issue.
On the other hand, the ginning mills' managements are sticking to their ground and have boycotted participation in the tenders. The ginners are demanding amendments to the tender guidelines, while the officials are unable to make a final decision.
In fact, the farmers are anticipating a price fall during the peak season and are trying to dispose of the stocks a bit early. Surprisingly, the prices dipped to Rs 6,500-Rs 7,000 even during the off-season, causing further panic among the growers. The govt's decision to remove import duties for about 45 days already crippled the market. Sensing trouble in the domestic market, the govt asked the CCI to gear up to purchase stocks from the farmers during the crop season. The govt also increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to Rs 8,110 per quintal for the upcoming season.
However, the CCI is struggling to finalise tenders with the ginners to launch the procurement operations. Initially, the CCI wanted to finalise the tenders by September 1. With the ginning mills keeping away from filing the bids in protest against the tender conditions, the CCI extended the deadline until September 25. Curiously, none filed the bids even after the extended deadline.
Sources said that the CCI already communicated the demands of the ginning mills to the Union commerce ministry and is waiting for a response. The ginning mills want the CCI to invite zone-wise bids and remove the clause of lowest bids. They want the CCI to allow all the ginning mills to take part in the procurement process. They have also demanded the CCI to remove the time-slot clause imposed on the farmers. They are asking that farmers should be allowed to bring the stocks on their convenient days instead of imposing a specific schedule on them. However, the CCI authorities said that regulating the farmers with a specific schedule would allow them to assess the arrivals and complete the procurement as per the fixed timelines. "It will be difficult to track the procurement and identity of the farmers if they are allowed to bring the stock without any schedule," said a CCI official.
