New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) India exported 21.97 lakh bales of cotton to China out of the total outbound shipments of 54.83 lakh bales during the current cotton season 2020-21, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

Minister of State for Textiles Darshana Jardosh said the export of cotton and yarn from India to China has not stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China was the second largest importer of cotton from India after Bangladesh, she said.

Regarding export of yarn during 2020-21, she said 275 million kg of cotton yarn was exported to China out of the total exports of 980 million kg.

China was the largest importer of yarn from India.

'During the current cotton season 2020-21 (October 2020 to September 2021) as of April 2021, 21.97 lakh bales of cotton were exported from India to China out of the total exports of 54.83 lakh bales,' she said.

In a separate reply, she said the conditions emanating from the pandemic led to disruptions in overall economic activities leading to demand and supply shifts in the offtake of raw-materials and finished goods, including in the handloom sector.

'There was also a fall in the number of viable proposals like marketing expos, subsidized yarn supply, etc., from the state governments and yarn supply beneficiaries. These factors led to a gap between the budgetary estimates and actual expenditure in FY 2020-21,' she added.

The figures for budget estimates, revised estimates and actual expenditure on handlooms for the year 2020-21 are Rs 475 crore, Rs 336 crore and Rs 315.95 crore, respectively, the minister said.