The Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA) has urged the Tamil Nadu government to set up a textile board with a focused approach for the development of the sector in the state. It feels there is a good scope to increase global market share from the current level of about 2.6 per cent by exporting value added products and synthetic products.

TEA has also urged the state government to provide incentives for setting up technical textile units in Tamil Nadu. It says the state textile department needs to work closely with industry for the development of technical textiles. Requesting the provision of five per cent interest subsidy under the TUFS, exporters say the state textile policy should provide five per cent interest subsidy and 10 per cent capital subsidy for modernisation or it should include expansion of garment units on the lines of the Gujarat and the Maharashtra textile policy, which provide five and seven per cent interest subsidy respectively.

Tirupur contributes about 45 per cent of total knitwear exports from India and exports only cotton based garments. TEA says Tamil Nadu should bring out a separate state export policy in line with the foreign trade policy of the centre to give a focused approach for export development of the state.

www.tea-india.org/