Rise in yarn prices: TN's Tirupur garment units to go on 6-day strike

Chennai, May 3

The garment units in Tirupur, widely known as the garment capital of South India, will down shutters from May 16 to 21 in protest against the hike in prices of cotton yarn.

The price of cotton yarn has increased by Rs 40 per kg after the Centre reduced the import duty on cotton.

The strike call was announced by the Tirupur garment owners association in a statement on Tuesday.

The garment units, mostly exporters, are worried that the hike in cotton yarn prices will adversely affect their business and, hence, as a mark of protest they will stage the six-day protest. The annual turnover of the Tirupur garment industry is around Rs 36,000 crore.

Tirupur garment owners association president, M.P. Muthuraman, while speaking to media, said, "The cotton mills increased the price of yarn by Rs 50 per kilogram in November 2021, and the yarn was sold at Rs 350 per kg. Now after the Government of India has reduced the import duty of cotton, we were expecting prices of yarn to fall, instead, mills have increased it by Rs 40 per kg with which we cannot survive. We have no other option but to shut our units as a mark of protest."

Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) president, Raja Shanmugham while speaking to media said, "We request the Union government to effect a ban on the export of cotton yarn till the price stabilizes."

He said that there are possibilities of cotton being hoarded by traders in North India leading to scarcity of product.

Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TNSMA) special advisor, Dr. K. Venkitachalam while speaking to  media said, "The cotton traders in North India are hoarding the product creating scarcity and hence mills are increasing the prices. There seems to be no effect on the removal of import duty of cotton by the Government of India."

He also said that when the removal of import duty for cotton was announced, there was an immediate drop in cotton candy prices, but now with less availability of cotton candy, the price has come up.