Tirupur’s knitwear exports have started growing after a gap of several months.

Global brands have started placing more orders from the region. Garment units in Tirupur had fallen silent during the pandemic due to high yarn prices, the aftershocks of demonetisation and the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).

In January 2023, exports from Tirupur increased by 1.5 per cent. The rise in exports comes after a drop of 14.7 per cent in August 2022, 30.7 per cent in September 2022, 37.8 per cent in October 2022, 6.9 per cent in November 2022 and 12.9 per cent in December 2022.

This dip in exports was mainly due to demand from Europe and the US waning due to inflation, recession and the Ukraine war.Demand was also affected due to the volatility in cotton and yarn prices as well as competition from nations such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Thailand which quoted lesser prices for their garments.

Tirupur received more orders, in part, to Turkish factories shutting down as well as reduction in the inventory levels of buyers. Some 63 per cent of the total knitwear exports from India go to the US and Europe, with 34 per cent going to the US and 29 per cent going to Europe, followed by nine per cent to the UK.