Mali, which produces eight lakh tons of cotton a year, is looking at direct exports of cotton to the Indian textile industry. Niankoro Yeah Samake, Mali’s Ambassador in India, says about 20 per cent of Mali’s cotton is consumed by India. However, most of the trade is through foreign companies. So, there are opportunities to trade directly. Currently, Europe and China are the biggest buyers of the West African nation’s cotton.

Mali produces long staple cotton and only 5 per cent of it is processed in that country and the rest is exported. Mali’s government is offering incentives for investments in the textile sector and there are opportunities for joint ventures too. The government agency buys cotton from all the farmers. Annual cotton production in Mali in the last two years increased from five lakh tonnes to eight lakh tonnes.

Currently, there are no investments from Indian textile sector in that country. Those who start textile production in Mali will have duty-free access to the U.S. and some of the European markets too, he added. In the short-term, Mali is looking at increasing trade with India in the cotton sector and in the long term it will look at other investments.

J Thulasidharan, Chairman, Indian Cotton Federation, says that the price of Indian cotton goes up during the second half of the season and hence, importing cotton could be viable. On an average, about 10 lakh bales of cotton is imported from African countries annually.