In the wake of frequent price fluctuations of cotton and yarn, hosiery garment manufacturers urged the government to impose restrictions on the export of these articles.

President of South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association, A. C. Eswaran said it was necessary to control the export of cotton and yarn to prevent escalation of prices amidst reports that acreage under cotton cultivation in the country this season stands reduced to 19.07 lakh hectares from 34.87 lakh hectares last season.

Noting that a slight increase in cost of yarn leads to higher input costs for them, some hosiery manufacturers reportedly said that it had led to increasing the sales price by 10 per cent.

They also contended that the Cotton Corporation of India should be prevented from releasing any stock of cotton to traders.

“Instead, a mechanism needs to be developed to supply the cotton procured by the CCI only to the manufacturers of yarn and fabrics through a direct mode of transfer. This move will prevent hoarding and cotton will then only reach the right hands,” they said.

Appealing to the government to procure cotton at attractive support prices from farmers, the industry body said it would encourage the farmers to supply only to the government machinery instead of traders and middle men who were responsible for periodic hikes in prices of cotton and yarn.