For a nation on the economic fast track to growth, India remains a land shrouded in mystery. It is the world’s second-largest producer of cotton, yet has an average yield far below the world average. About 90% of the country’s planted cotton is Bt, yet genetic modification remains a huge controversy in some regions. One of its states – if it were an independent nation – would be the world’s fourth-largest cotton producer. And, although India has a 4,000-year-old history with cotton, the government had embarked on an ambitious two-stage mission to develop an ultramodern technical textiles industry.
At its heart, however, India is a beautiful and fascinating land with one of the oldest cultures in the world. Cotton International Publisher Jess Ennis spent a good deal of time exploring the subcontinent in January and found the cotton industry to be thriving, charged with optimism, and poised for further growth.
Much of his time was spent in Gujarat, the biggest cotton producer of India’s states (see page 38). By itself, Gujarat should produce 10 million bales (170 kg) in the 2010/11 season, and at 700 kg/ha, it also has the highest yield of the country’s eight major cotton-producing states.
Already boasting a per-capita income that’s more than twice as high as the national average, Gujarat’s economic outlook is getting even brighter due to an influx of business in denim production, with retail giant Walmart as one of the primary customers.
Walmart is also a significant purchaser of certified organic cotton, so it’s no surprise they also import much of their stock from India, which is the world’s largest producer of organic cotton. Textile manufacturer The Arvind Group has parlayed that commercial support into an organic program that benefits 4,000 marginalized farmers in the Vidarb region of the state of Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, government officials have decided to supercharge the development of India’s technical textiles industry (see page 42). It’s an investment that is expected to pay off in a big way, as technical textiles is one of the few industrial sectors that is expected to grow on par with the country’s gross domestic product.
Broken into two “mini-missions,” the government and the industry are looking for diversification opportunities to enlarge the Indian textiles industry, hoping to reach $115 billion by 2012. The technical textiles sector should contribute about 10% of that amount.
Another significant economic success story is the soaring popularity of one of India’s highest-quality cotton strains, Shankar-6. About to be trademarked, Shankar-6 is an especially desirable fiber in China, not only bringing in additional revenue but also helping to raise the global perception of Indian cotton quality.
Events at Press Time
Like every other nation involved in cotton, market volatility and historically high prices have wreaked havoc with India’s cotton and textile industries.
These two major economic engines have been at odds over raw cotton and cotton yarn exports since last year, and rest of the world is watching closely to see what develops in coming months. Indian officials are caught between the cotton and textile industries, with each group exerting as much influence as possible by pleading their cases in public via mass media outlets.
The Apparel Exports Promotions Council (AEPC) is the latest to voice its concerns, saying the current cotton price is unsustainable and will reduce India’s apparel exports by 15%.
Finally, it remains to be seen how the political turmoil in various countries will affect India. Initially, some industry experts thought that the unrest in Egypt might make it impossible for domestic apparel companies to fulfill export orders, resulting in a short and intense spike in business for their Indian counterparts. To be sure, there are reports that Indian apparel exporters have been reporting a 10% to 12% spurt in export orders.
India’s domestic demand for cotton is surging, spurred on by an emerging middle class and a young population increasingly attracted to denim. At the same time, the world’s apparel behemoths now appear to be looking toward India more and toward China less as a supplier of first choice. Boom times and incentives to increase productivity in the cotton fields should continue in India.