AEPC Seeks Reduction in Cotton Import Duty During Meetings With Union Ministers
18 May 2026: Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr. A. Sakthivel met Piyush Goyal, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Giriraj Singh on 13 May 2026 in New Delhi along with a delegation from the apparel industry to discuss reduction of cotton import duty from the existing 11 per cent to 0 per cent.
During the meetings, the delegation submitted representations highlighting challenges faced by the apparel and textile sector due to higher cotton prices and increasing input costs.
According to the industry representatives, India’s recent Free Trade Agreements have created opportunities for growth in textile and apparel exports. However, the delegation stated that competing apparel-exporting countries are able to source cotton at internationally competitive prices, while Indian manufacturers continue to face higher raw material costs under the current import duty structure.
The delegation stated that lowering import duty on cotton would support Indian apparel exporters in securing additional business opportunities from FTA partner countries and strengthen India’s competitiveness in international markets.
Industry representatives also stated that neighbouring competing countries currently have better access to competitively priced raw materials, enabling them to offer more competitive export pricing.
The delegation further stated that reduction of cotton import duty could support raw material availability for the textile sector while contributing to export growth, employment generation, and investment across the textile value chain.
According to the delegation, the textile industry’s cotton requirement for the current year is projected at around 337 lakh bales, while cotton arrivals for the 2025-26 season are estimated at 292.15 lakh bales. The industry representatives indicated that this could result in a supply-demand gap of nearly 45 lakh bales.
The delegation stated that the projected shortfall may increase pressure on spinning mills and downstream textile sectors due to rising input costs and limited availability of quality raw material.
The delegation accompanying the AEPC Chairman included ….
– K M Subramaniam
– Shanmugasundaram P
– Dhamodharan R
– Mohanasundaram K
– Sudhakar K
– Krishnan P
– Srikanth T R
– Vivekanand N
