Interest rates have limited discretionary expenditure, which has resulted in a decrease in total demand for clothing. “This has a major impact on clothing manufacturers, who in turn affect domestic fabric producers. In such situations, the entire value chain is harmed, and many brands have cut back on their purchases,” added another participant in the market. Due to weakening demand, even denim producers reported decreased third-quarter revenues.
Our exports will fall to all-time lows this year. Our cotton exports from October 2022 to February 2023 were the lowest in recent years at only 8 lakh bales. In contrast to the 42.50 lakh bales sent during the previous season, our total exports for 2022–2023 are predicted to be only 30 lakh bales. Except for a few days, Indian cotton prices have been above Rs 60,000 per sweet (356kg), thus our pricing is still higher than international cotton rates, according to Ajay Shah, secretary of the GujCot Association.
He stated that worldwide demand is low due to inflationary pressure and European demand has been especially weak due to the Russia-Ukraine war. India typically exports more than 50 lakh bales of cotton.
Cotton analyst Arun Dalal from the city remarked, “Gujarat had cotton arrivals of approximately 45 lakh bales this season, with a total of 1.60 crore bales in India. Due to the depressed mood in the textile industry, both domestic and international demand has remained low. Spinning mills are now functioning at roughly 80% capacity with constant domestic demand and in the last month there have been some orders from Bangladesh. After Holi, additional cotton will arrive in Gujarat, but this season we do not see cotton prices falling below Rs 58,000 per candy.
