Date:18/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/18/stories/2006071809090400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Corporation to buy cotton from State

M. Soundariya Preetha

Move aimed at boosting farmers' confidence

When cotton began arriving a couple of weeks ago, farmers were complaining of a low price

CCI officials began monitoring arrival, price and quality of cotton from last week

COIMBATORE: In a bid to boost farmers' confidence, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) will procure cotton from two or three centres at Kumbakonam beginning Tuesday.

A corporation official said here on Monday that when cotton began arriving a couple of weeks ago, farmers were complaining of a low price compared to other States. CCI officials began monitoring the arrival, price and quality of cotton in the main cotton producing regions last week. They found that while the price was good in Erode, in places such as Kumbakonam, it was low.

South India Cotton Association Secretary K.N. Viswanathan said Tamil Nadu produced 3.5 lakh bales of cotton in the summer crop and two lakh bales in the winter crop. This year, production was expected to be slightly low as in centres such as Thanjavur a number of farmers had gone back to cultivating paddy due to availability of water.