The export of cotton has been prohibited till further orders with immediate effect. The Director General of Foreign Trade issued a notification today to this effect. An official release said, almost 94 lac bales have already shipped out, against an estimated export surplus of 84 lac bales.

The Ministry of Textiles has been monitoring the raw cotton production, its domestic consumption and import-export through the Cotton Advisory Board from time to time.

The release said, the decision to ban further exports took into account the trend of domestic consumption and depletion of domestic availability. Availability has reduced to less than the production levels of 2009-10, and also reduced the carry forward figure below the advisable inventory level.