The government on Saturday exempted all customs duties on cotton imports for five months till October 30, 2026. In a notification, the finance ministry said the import duty exemption will be effective from June 1, 2026. The duty exemption will help increase the availability of cotton for the Indian textile sector.
The temporary duty exemption is expected to reduce input costs across the textile and apparel sector, thereby providing a targeted relief to manufacturers and consumers, while also keeping the interests of domestic farmers in mind.
Overall, the measure is anticipated to have a positive impact on the performance of the domestic textile industry, especially the small and medium enterprises, ensuring better availability of cotton in the market, the ministry said.
Cotton production in the current cotton marketing season (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026) is expected to be about 290 lakh bales as against the domestic requirement of nearly 320 lakh bales. The Union government suspended the import duty from April to October in 2022 and in 2025.
Cotton price on Saturday was ₹64,000 a candy and the prices are on the rise for the last two months. Nearly 40 lakh bales of cotton have been imported so far in the current season.
