Tiruppur exporters to protest increase in yarn prices on November 26

The knitwear hub of Tiruppur will witness a one-day strike on November 26 by exporters and manufacturers of apparel as part of the ‘action plan’ to protest the ever-increasing price of cotton yarn. At a meeting on Monday organised by the Tiruppur Exporters and Manufacturers’ Association (TEAMA), it was decided to hold the day-long strike with support from traders and lorry owners association.

The ever-increasing price of yarn, which has gone up by over Rs 100 per kg in just a year, and the spiralling cost of raw materials are some of the major issues that have been confronting the multi-crore industry for a while.

The price of 30s combed yarn has gone up from Rs 240 in November 2020 to Rs 380 in November 2021 for a kilo, causing concern to exporters, especially those who fall under the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) category.

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“Since the price of yarn been increasing constantly for the past one year, exporters and manufacturers in Tiruppur have been protesting in one way or the other. We have decided to hold a day-long strike in Tiruppur during which all factories and shops will be shut. We want the governments to intervene and reduce the price,” TEAMA President Muthurathinam told DH.

TEAMA and Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA), the largest association representing exporters, will support the 6 am to 6 pm strike call on November 26.

The increase in price at regular intervals caused huge losses to exporters who fix price for their orders at the time of signing. “We sign the orders four to five months before the delivery. If the yarn prices increase significantly, we stare at losses. We are not in a position to revise the price with the buyer. If the buyer doesn’t agree, we lose the money,” a leading exporter told DH on the condition of anonymity.

Tiruppur accounts for over 46 per cent of India’s exports in knitwear and the total exports in the 2020-2021 fiscal from the cluster stood at Rs 24,730 crore.

The industry had suffered one blow after another — demonetisation, the introduction of the GST regime, and global slowdown. Just when it was recovering from the losses, Covid-19 struck, but the multi-crore industry was able to offset much of the loss incurred during the first wave.

It was possible because the most of the world was under lockdown and international buyers accepted the delay in delivery of orders in 2020. However, the situation during the second wave was different.

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