The time is ripe when India should seriously look into branding Indian cotton on the lines of what we see for US cotton, Giza cotton and so on that is the context for the Kasturi Cotton branding initiative currently underway with a reasonably ambitious goal of glamorizing the country's gracious cotton industry taking it to its rightful place in the global market.
The initiative is anchored in the recognition that India is the second largest producer of cotton in the world, despite of this primacy the party is spoiled by consistent worry and concerns around quality consistency and traceability.
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Marred by decades of unsustainable farming practices, the field is also witnessing the proliferation of genetically modified (GM) cotton variables, it has associated risks like a drop in staple length, contamination issues, and unwanted inconsistency in quality.
Keeping trade on edge; Branding unarguably is business and growth imperative sectorally textile sector can be no exception and it is where the Kasturi Cotton initiative underpins addressing these pertinent challenges head-on by augmenting the cultivation and processing of premium, long-staple cotton varieties with robust traceability methodology/mechanisms are some of the steps kickstarting the languishing sector,
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It outlines the merit of the production of Extra-Long Staple (ELS) cotton with a staple length of 35.2 mm and above, way beyond the existing average staple length of Indian cotton which averages around 27-29 mm, which straightens the fact translating to superior yarn quality, amplifying the production heft for superfine and more durable textiles both for value and margin accretion.
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A differentiating factor of Kasturi Cotton is its robust traceability system, which currently is a serious issue when it comes to exports of cotton supporting buyers to have visibility to help track the cotton's journey from the farm to the fashion/finished product giving the sense of comfort to buyers of its high-quality besides instilling confidence of responsible and ethical sourcing stressing on the underlying buyers' needs and requirements for contamination-free, uniformity, and manufacturing excellence on the back of spinning performance reiterating deep commitment to adhering to sustainable good business practices.
The deeper issue of this exercise is to enhance India's reputation in the global market, leading to incremental export volumes and adding pricing power to the sector.
It is an aspirational initiative Kasturi Cotton looking to capture a notable share of India's cotton export basket in the discerning global market respectfully, with a stated target of reaching 10 percent or thereabouts of the total exports through the coming five years on the back of an envious quality standards unraveling the hidden potential.
The initiative's emphasis on quality, consistency, and traceability is expected to enhance India's reputation in the global market, leading to increased export volumes and improved price realization.
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As is expected any good work also needs marketing outreach and promotion the ministry is going all out to establish Kasturi Cotton actively, is been showcased at various international trade fairs, advertised and publicized for good reason in the pursuit of target global buyers.
The initiative has been met with an encouraging/ motivational initial response and is been well received interest is all-time high and the initiative has made a good progress.
In summary, it is an opportunity to tap into unlocking the potential of the Indian textile industry; Kasturi Cotton has the inherent potential to reset global standards as this is a simple clean method of re-emphasizing positioning India as a preferred source of high-value cotton to dominate the headlines with far-reaching consequences benefitting across the stakeholders help grow and develop sector in the vision journey for Amrit Kaal and 2047, when the country would celebrate 100 years of independence.