Cotton cultivators and farmers’ associations in Tiruvarur district alleged that cotton producers were unable to fetch right price for their produce because of “involvement of middlemen” in cotton auction.
Inquiries revealed that cotton producers in Tiruvarur staged demonstrations recently on the Nagapattinam-Tiruvarur Highway alleging that low prices were quoted by the “local middlemen” in association with the regulatory market authorities for their produce brought by them to the regulatory market in Tiruvarur.
The protesters said that while a minimum support price of ₹71 a kg had been fixed by the government for cotton, those who participated in the auction held on last Tuesday at the regulated market quoted ₹52 to ₹55 a kg as their bids.
Citing the difficulties and the higher cost of cultivation involved in the production of cotton during this season, the cotton cultivators refused to accept the bids and indicted the regulatory market authorities for not inviting real traders for auction.
While the strained relationship between the cotton cultivating farmers and the regulatory market authorities was yet to get smoothened, P.R. Pandian, president of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations in Tami Nadu, endorsed the views of cotton cultivators.
In a statement on June 27, Mr. Pandian said the procurement price of one quintal of cotton hovered around ₹15,000 in Erode, Tiruppur, and other areas which had a concentration of textile industries. But the bid prices quoted by “traders” at the auction held at the regulated markets in delta districts remained as low as ₹30 to ₹40 a kg.
Charging that the refusal of the State government to bear the transportation cost of cotton led to the non-participation of the Cotton Corporation of India in the auction conducted by the regulatory markets, the Coordination Committee president demanded an explanation from the State government on this issue.
Published – June 28, 2025 05:14 pm IST
