New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS): Indian cotton exports have declined in the current fiscal hit by reduced imports by China, the textiles ministry has said.

"As per estimates by the Cotton Advisory Board, exports are expected to decrease by around 40 to 71 lakh bales in comparison to 117.92 lakh bales in the previous year," Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Gangwar said China offloaded huge cotton reserves (in the global market), thus affecting Indian exports.

To a question if huge quantities of cotton were imported due to low production and substandard quality of Indian cotton, Gangwar said: "Only limited quantity of Extra Large Staple (ELS) whose domestic production is less than the industry requirement has been imported."

The government has constituted an inter-ministerial committee to address issues plaguing the textile industry -- like absence of research and development, recession, problems with machinery and technology transfer.