QCO of cotton faces major pushback from cotton gin operators

New Delhi, June 29 (KNN) The Quality Control Order (QCO) for mandatory certification of cotton bales is facing significant resistance from India’s cotton ginners.

In a bid to standardise cotton bales in India, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has stressed that the nation deserves top-tier garments and that all stakeholders should ensure this standard is met.

However, the ginning industry is currently unenthusiastic about implementing the order. 

The Haryana Cotton Ginners Association has written to the state government’s Traders’ Welfare Board, arguing that ginners cannot modify cotton quality standards since it's an agricultural product.

Sunil Mittal, the Association's President, has warned that if there is any coercive enforcement of this order, ginning mills would be unable to maintain production. As a result, they would have to halt cotton production from the new season starting next October. 

Similarly, the Punjab-based Indian Cotton Association expressed in a letter that an agricultural commodity's quality depends on factors such as weather. They insist that while no one intends to produce subpar cotton, setting a quality standard isn't feasible for ginners. 

Last February the Ministry of Textiles announced that the government had approved the QCO for mandatory certification of cotton bales.

This is in line with specification No. IS12171: 2019-Cotton Bales to improve the quality of cotton supplied to the textile industry. The QCO will take effect from October 2023.  (KNN Bureau)