India’s first special storage facility for handling raw cotton was launched at the Dakshin Bharat Gateway Container Terminal, the Thoothukudi VOC port. An initial step towards establishing the ambitious Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FGTWZ) at the Thoothukudi Port will reintroduce cotton trade in a big way, said VOC chairman S Anantha Chandra Bose.
The facility set up by the port estate can house around 500, Equivalent Units (TEU) of 40 foot container at the custom bonded area of Dakshin Bharat Gateway Container Terminal in berth number 8. International traders can stock raw cotton at the facility for a period of 30 days free of cost.
The raw cotton storage facility will lead to commissioning of the FGTWZ at Thoothukudi Port, with world-class infrastructure for warehousing of raw cotton, state-of-the-art equipment, transportation and handling facilities, commercial office space, water, power, communications and connectivity, and one-stop clearance of import and export formality. The facility would help textile mills to get cotton at international price within a short span of one week, thereby increasing the yarn production in Tamil Nadu. The facility would have a rippling effect by strengthening the textile value chain particularly knitting, weaving, garment, textile processing, apparel sector etc. The initiative will also help spinning mill owners to buy cotton at competitive prices in the Indian market.
M Senthil Kumar, Chairman, Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) points out, the price of cotton was highly volatile and many industries in the small and medium scale category could not sustain the variations as it takes at least a month to buy cotton consignment from abroad.
