Cotton seed price rise is making life tough for dairy farmers who use it as cattle feed

The dairy farmers of Tirupur are affected after the increased price of cotton seeds led to an increase in the price of cattle feed. Cotton seeds are a vital part of the cattle feed and are rich in protein and fibre.

Farmers told IANS that the price of cotton seeds has gone up from Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 in a span of four months. Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Association leader Kolanthaisamy, told IANS that "The rising prices of cotton seeds will also affect ordinary farmers who have a few cows, not just big dairy farmers. The scarcity of cotton seeds is having an impact on farmers."

P.M. Mukundan, who owns Sree Krishna dairy farms in Tirupur, told IANS, "The lack of availability of cotton seeds has affected the cattle feed; we used to get cotton from Dindigul, Palani, Kumbakonam, and other areas. However, high prices of cotton seeds following the hike in prices of cotton have led to an increase in prices of cattle feed. This is affecting us badly and I don't know how to run the farm."

The dairy farmers of Tirupur area are worried that the unprecedented hike will directly affect the production of milk. Farmers who have five to ten cows are affected the most as most have three or four labourers who charge Rs 600 per day and with the increase in the price of cattle feed, the venture goes into a loss.

The Tirupur garment industry, too, is facing difficulties due to the rise in prices of cotton yarn. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the import of cotton yarn. DMK leader and Member of Parliament Kanizmozhi led a delegation of MPs to meet Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Textile Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss the matter.

The small and medium industries in the textile sector went on a four-day strike in Western Tamil Nadu against the hike in prices of cotton.