According to Lanka Raghurami Reddy, President, AP Textile Mills Association, spinning mills in Andhra Pradesh have reduced 40 per cent of their cotton production due to COVID -19 and workers shortage.

While some spinning mills are working in two shifts, while others are running in single shift only. There are 120 spinning mills in the state which produce 687,884 metric tonnes of cotton yarn per annum.

They export Rs 842 crore worth cotton yarn to various countries and states. Spinning mills are directly providing employment to one lakh workers and indirectly generating employment to four lakh workers.

Almost all the spinning mills have reduced 40 per cent of cotton yarn production for the last three months. According to sources in the AP Textile Mills Association, due to the lockdown, textile mills in West Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra States are not purchasing cotton yarn.

Every spinning mill on an average has been producing 25 metric tonnes to 30 metric tonnes of cotton during the last three months. Over Rs 350 crore to Rs 450 crore worth cotton yarn stocks are piled piled up in the spinning mills. As a result the mills are facing working capital problem and unable to pay loan installment to banks, maintenance expenses.

When the COVID-19 cases were on rise, the workers working in the spinning mills went to their natives places taking their last year experience into consideration.

As a result the spinning mills are working with the available workers. If the same situation continues, the spinning mills will face severe financial crisis, adds Reddy