For one, the Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Growers' Marketing Federation, with its monopoly cotton procurement scheme is nursing losses of around Rs 1,500 crore, the result of 10.5 lakh bales of unsold cotton accumulated over the past couple of years. Auctions at lower than procured prices do not seem to ease the federation's problem of plenty, for the situation is likely to continue in the next cotton season beginning October. And the government is unlikely to amend the easy cotton import policy in the near future for the benefit of local growers. The federation needs to shed its dislike for cotton futures which, if handled deftly, helps minimise the risks in an increasingly uncertain world. Cotton futures, allowed last December after three decades, has not taken off for various reasons,including apathy from the two largest state-owned cotton dealing entities-Cotton Corporation of India and the federation. The East India Cotton Association conducting cotton futures for the past eight months is awaiting entry of large players for the success of cotton futures. Both these entities jointly account for around 50 per cent of cotton purchases in the country and are wide open to market risks. Their role is to help domestic cotton growers get good prices, which requires that these entities resort to hedging in cotton to minimise their market-related risks. For example, resorting to futures to minimise market risks recently helped gold miners in Australia, among others, to reap huge profits. This therefore, requires fresh thinking by state-owned entities.