Guntur: CCI likely to close down cotton purchase centres

Guntur: The Cotton Corporation of India (CII) has reportedly decided to stop the purchase of cotton at the cotton purchase centres across the State very soon.

According to official sources, the Cotton Corporation of India-run cotton purchasing centres are not receiving quality cotton from the farmers anymore. Citing poor quality of cotton as one of the reasons, they want to close down the cotton purchase centres.

Cotton purchasing activity has come to a grinding halt at more than 90 per cent of the cotton purchase centres throughout the State. The CCI officials are rejecting the cotton stocks of the farmers on the pretext of poor quality of the cotton. The CCI has set up 39 centres in the State to purchase the cotton from the farmers at the price of Rs 5,550 per quintal to extend helping hand to the farmers.

According to sources in the Agriculture Department, the farmers raised cotton crop in 6.5 lakh hectares in the State and produced 18 lakh bales yield during this season. The CCI so far purchased two lakh bales from the farmers. The CCI officials are saying that the farmers are not bringing quality cotton to the purchase centres to buy the same at the Minimum Support Price of Rs 5,550 and rejecting the cotton stocks brought by the farmers. As a result, the farmers are compelled to sell the cotton stock to the local traders at the rate of Rs 3,500- Rs 4000 per quintal and incurring heavy losses.

Depending upon the quality of cotton, the local buyers are fixing the rate.

The farmers alleged that CCI buyers are purchasing the cotton from the middle men who make fast buck. However, the CCI officials rejected the same cotton stocks brought by the farmers saying that it is inferior quality cotton.

The farmers staged a dharna at Sattenapalli, Prattipadu and Krosuru Agriculture Market yards in Guntur district to mount pressure on the officials to purchase cotton at the MSP. Some of the farmers threatened to commit suicide at Agriculture Market Yards, if the CCI did not purchase the cotton at the MSP. In spite of it, there is no change in the CCI attitude.

The Vigilance and Enforcement department officials raided the Sattenapalli Agriculture Market Yard and booked case in Sattenpalli Police Station against 10 brokers and yard secretary. They sent the report to the Government on irregularities in cotton purchases.

On the condition of anonymity, an official in the Agriculture Marketing Department said, "The cotton purchase activity has already come to a grinding halt in the cotton purchasing centres set up by the CCI since the farmers are not bringing quality cotton. We are ready to close the cotton purchases centres across the state." A farmer D Sambasiva Rao demanded that the CCI purchase the cotton from farmers at MSP to extend helping hand. He urged the government to relax the norms and purchase cotton stocks immediately.