New Delhi [India], May 31 (ANI): The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry has welcomed the Central Government's decision to temporarily remove the 11% import duty on cotton from June 1 to October 31, saying the relief will help India's MSME-dominated textile and apparel sector improve global competitiveness amid global headwinds. The move comes as India targets $100 billion in textile and apparel exports by 2030.

'The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) warmly welcomes the temporary removal of the 11% import duty on cotton from June 1 to October 31, 2026, for the momentum it can provide to the MSME-dominated Indian textile and apparel sector,' CITI said in a press release.

The industry body noted that it had been advocating relief on cotton import duty along with other industry bodies, after the duty was reinstated on January 1 following a brief hiatus from August to December 2025.

CITI Chairman Ashwin Chandran said the duty had become a major constraint for exporters.

'Amid the ongoing global volatility and uncertainty, the 11% import duty on cotton was acting as a major hindrance to the Indian textile and apparel sector in raising its global competitiveness since our major Asian competitors already have duty-free access to cotton,' he said in the CITI press release.

He added that the duty was 'resulting in costs going up across the value chain and having a detrimental impact on scaling India's textile and apparel exports', noting that India's textile exports are dominated by cotton.

Chandran also linked the relief to trade opportunities.

'With this temporary relief in the cotton import duty, India's textile and apparel exporters can better leverage opportunities that are emerging from the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs),' Shri Chandran said in the press release. He pointed out that the FTA with the UK is slated to be operational in a few months, and cheaper imported cotton will help exporters meet back-to-back export orders. 'Cotton imports are largely quality and specification-driven, catering to specialised requirements and back-to-back export orders. They do not displace domestic cotton,' he added.

Addressing concerns of farmers, CITI said the demand-supply gap from steadily decreasing domestic cotton production necessitated imports.

'The industry's request for the removal of the cotton import duty was never at the expense of the interests of the farmer. For us, it is always industry plus farmer,' Shri Chandran stated in the CITI press release. He cited the '5F' vision and said a thriving textile industry is the farmer's strongest customer. 'Supporting the textile and apparel industry with a more robust policy framework for a critical raw material can ensure long-term gains for both the industry and farmers, in line with the 'development for all' principle,' he said.

The textile and apparel sector is India's second-biggest employer and a major contributor to GDP and exports, but textile and apparel exports declined 2.2% year-on-year in FY26 to $35.79 billion, according to the CITI press release. (ANI)