Textile mills in Tamil Nadu are yet to see revival of orders though the festival season is just a few weeks away. Small-scale spinners claim that little has changed with the orders. But cotton is becoming more expensive. The units are run by mills with captive renewable energy sources. However, they claim that not even these units can turn a profit.
Due to increasing cotton prices, a downturn in export and local demand, and high manufacturing costs, the textile industry has been experiencing a slowdown in orders for about six months.
For the free uniform and saree initiatives, the State Government has requested the mills deliver 40s count yarn directly. However, they continued, the mills are hesitant to deliver due to rising cotton prices.
According to Jayabal, President of the Recycle Textile Federation, orders declined 29 percent for the mills and just 10 percent of these orders have come back. In the last four-five years, the total spindles have also increased.
In comparison to other States, Tamil Nadu had a high electricity rate, which made it challenging for the textile factories to recover. He asserted that the smaller mills covered by the LT CT tariff slab were making more payments than the larger mills. Last month, the MSME textile factories in Tamil Nadu went on strike in protest for supportive measures, but they ended it after meeting with the State’s Ministers.
