Under fire,cotton export ban unspools

With opposition mounting,the government has decided to lift the cotton export ban imposed last week. “Keeping in view the facts,the interests of farmers,interest of the industry,trade,a balanced view has been considered by the group of ministers (GoM) to roll back the ban,” Commerce,Industry and Textile Minister Anand Sharma said today. A formal order will be issued tomorrow.

The ban on March 5 had taken all stakeholders by surprise,forcing domestic prices into a free fall and badly denting India’s image as a credible supplier. The decision to revoke the ban was taken by the GoM,headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,on Friday,after a directive from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to “urgently” review the decision.

“MPs from Gujarat had met the Prime Minister and senior MP Ahmed Patel,Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil,CPP president Arjun Modwalia met me and discussed the issue,” Sharma said in his statement today.

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Following the ban,the PM had received representations from leaders of cotton-growing states Maharashtra and Gujarat. While Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the PM,Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar personally met him,protesting against the decision by the Commerce Ministry without consulting him.

In his defence of the ban last week,Sharma had called it a “well-considered decision”,taking into account “the trend of domestic consumption and depletion of domestic availability”.