Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay asks PM Modi to drop 11% cotton import duty

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the removal of the 11 % import duty on cotton. Vijay said cotton prices have risen about 25 % in two months, from Rs 54,700 to Rs 67,700 per candy, and yarn prices have increased from Rs 301 to Rs 330 per kilogram. He warned that the surge in raw‑material costs is creating a severe crisis in the state’s textile and apparel sector, which is India’s largest textile exporter and provides direct and indirect employment to lakhs of workers, especially rural women.

Vijay argued that continued supply of cotton now depends on imports, but the duty makes imports costly and threatens the sector’s export commitments and global competitiveness. He appealed for the duty to be reduced to zero to stabilise raw‑material availability, protect jobs, boost exports and sustain the textile value chain.