Tight Prospects

Daxin Gujarat Cotton Marketing Union, Surat, that inasmuch as the general price level has risen by about 25 per cent since the fixation of cotton ceilings in 1965, the growers' plea for a 15 per cent rise in the ceilings cannot be held unjustifiable. But then, from the point of view of the Government, the crucial question is whether the mill industry will not also seek a commensurate rise in the textile multipliers. Such a demand from the industry is but inevitable, especially as the cost of production of cloth has been steadily mounting up particularly since devaluation, A compromise between the demands of growers and those of the industry would be to ensure that the farmers get the current ceilings prices throughout the season and that the industry obtains its cotton requirements without difficulty at prices which they are already accustomed to pay.