Staring rising cotton yarn and fabric prices are impacting exporters, Lalit Thukral, President, The Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC), has sought immediate government intervention. As per an Apparel Resources report, Thukral has sought removal of 10 per cent cotton import duty and development of a mechanism to regulate the prices of cotton and other raw materials to support the sector.

Cotton prices have grown almost 80 per cent in the last few months, informs Thukral. This has made it difficult for exporters to absorb the hike in fabric prices and remain competitive, adds Vimal Shah, President, Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR). High raw material price is one of the main reasons that garment exporters are losing orders and facing tough competition in the global export market. At the same time, they are also losing the confidence of the importers and the buying houses.

This creates more challenges for small- and medium-level exporters as they also face capital and liquidity crunch. There are many more challenges for them due to COVID-related disruptions.