Indian surgical cotton industry is expecting a boost in sales in the domestic and international market mainly due to the rise in demand.

In an interview with fibre2fashion, Dr. Keshav Raj Kranthi, director of Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), India, said, “It is estimated that demand for surgical cotton is growing at the rate of 10 percent per annum across the world. The demand for it in India is estimated to be about 2 million bales (of 170 kg each) per year.”

Adding on, Mr. Rakesh Jajoo, director of Jajoo surgicals, manufacturer and exporter of surgical cotton wool, says, “The demand for surgical cotton is rapidly increasing in India as more people are getting access to basic health care and the number of people who can afford more complex medical facilities, like surgeries, transplants, etc. has increased in the country.

According to Dr. Kranthi, within the next 5 years, 3-3.5 million bales will be required to fulfill the domestic demand and more would be needed for the export market.

“Besides the Indian market, there is enormous export potential for surgical cotton in countries such as the US, EU and Japan,” he informs.

Informing further, Mr. Jajoo says, “There is also a rise in demand for Indian surgical cotton in Middle East and African region.”

Witnessing the rapid rise in demand for surgical cotton CICR has recently implemented a project of high-density cotton cultivation to increase cotton yield in shallow soils where BT cotton is not cultivated.