This was indicated by union textiles minister Kashiram Rana last week.

Talking to The Financial Express, he said the ban on exports was imposed when the country produced only 100 to 110 lakh cotton bales a year. Cotton growers then created an artificial shortage for the spinning and composite mills forcing the government to intervene. This ensured that prices didn't shoot up due to uncontrolled exports.

Justifying the need to lift the ban, he said, the situation has now improved and production has touched 170 lakh cotton. There is a surplus of 15 to 20 lakh bales carried forward every year, the minister said. Last year, exports were just five lakh bales as against a target of 7 lakh bales. And, this year, it has been hardly a lakh bales so far as against a target of five lakh bales.

Theprevailing cotton prices was far above the international prices. He said there was just no point in continuing with the ban. Rather, lifting the ban might help the growers in finding at least an outlet to reduce the glut.

Looking to the tremendous scope for increasing garment export, the minister said that the industry's demand for allowing the corporate houses enter the garment sector was under active consideration of the centre. So far, only SSIs and tiny sector were allowed entry in garment and handloom sectors.

To a question, if the centre could take such a decision in view of the ensuing snap polls, he quipped, it should not come in the way because the issue has been under the consideration of the government for a long. A decision in this direction might be taken in a fortnight or a month.

Besides, he said, the industry has a point. He recalled that all the steps centre has initiated under the Technology Upgradation Fund (1999-2004) launched in April or the Rs 600 crores Cotton Technology Missionwere after all to help the industry modernise, boost export and prepare for the new WTO regime with the phasing out of multi-fibre agreement by the end of 2004.

Rana, who was in the city to discuss the steps being undertaken by Gujarat government to boost export, said the ministry of textiles (MoT) has identified five states for helping respective state government set up garment on the lines of an Apparel Park coming up at Hyderabad and `Haat' at Hauz Khas (Delhi). They would be located at Ahmedabad or Gandhinaghar (Gujarat), Agra (UP) and Calcutta, each employing 25,000 people.

Although these garment parks would be ethnic in ethos, he said, they would be of international standard in facilities such as permanent exhibition-cum-sales complex with conference rooms and other facilities for buyer-seller meets.

The minister said he had met people from Arvind and other textiles mills of the city, who have also expressed their willingness to set up their units in the proposed parks.

Meanwhile, MoT hasinitiated discussion with different state governments to come out with a uniform power policy for textiles units. He said it was to provide incentives to entrepreneurs as had already been done in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. This would be with a view to making the textiles sector and textiles industry in particular more competitive in the international market, he said.