The Indian Cotton Ginning Traders Association has warned the Indian government to completely withdraw the notification of the Quality Control Order (QCO) also called BIS on cotton bales.
The association said the implementation of the QCO on cotton, will impact the cotton ginning industry and if not withdrawn, they will stop buying cotton.
The Ministry of Textiles had introduced rules to ensure that cotton bales meet a specific quality standard, outlined in the Indian Standard IS 12171:2019.
These bales must also carry the Standard Mark, obtained through a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), a quality certifying body.
This set of rules referred to as the QCO or BIS on cotton bales were to become effective from November 27, 2023. However following protests, the Indian textiles ministry extended the implementation date by one year.
But now the cotton ginners are demanding the complete withdrawal of the notification.
The ginners association added that the cotton crop is completely dependent on monsoon rains; in some places, it rains less and in some areas it rains more.
This affects the quality and yield of cotton. So it is not possible to control the productivity and quality of cotton.
According to the QCO on cotton notification, the ginning mills also have the burden of setting up a laboratory to ensure that the cotton meets the QCO or BSI norms.
Indian ginning body seeks complete withdrawal of QCO on cotton
