California company importing India’s foremost cotton cloth (6)
I believe the answer is:
calico
'cotton cloth' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'california company importing india's foremost' is the wordplay.
'california' becomes 'cal' (short for California).
'company' becomes 'co' (abbreviation).
'importing' indicates putting letters inside.
'foremost' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'india' is 'i'.
'cal'+'co'='calco'
'calco' placed around 'i' is 'CALICO'.
(Other definitions for calico that I've seen before include "Given material for dress" , "Coarse printed cotton cloth" , "Coarse cloth with a bright print" , "Plain cotton cloth, white or unbleached" , "Cotton cloth or fabric" .)