Owners of garment units in Tiruppur have announced a strike from May 16 to 21 to protest against the surge in yarn prices despite removal of import duty. Mohan Shankar, Proprietor, AK Fashion Garments said, most garment units in Tiruppur depend on other units for processing such as dyeing, printing, knitting, and embroidery. Increase in yarn price affects all segments of the industry directly. Hike in yarn prices also impacts business deals with foreign buyers, eroding exporters’ profit margins, he adds.

Raja N Shanmugham, President, Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA) urged the Union government to ban cotton and yarn exports immediately till prices stabilize. D K Venkatacham, Special Advisor, Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TNSMA) opined, cotton hoarding by North India traders is creating cotton scarcity, leading to a hike in prices. The removal of import duty seems to have had no effect on the traders.

Immediately after the announcement of the duty removal, cotton prices dropped to Rs 96,000 per candy and at Rs 98,000 per candy for some days. But, as cotton availability reduced, prices began to rise. The current price of cotton candy is around Rs 102,000.