Apparel exporters are continuously raising their concerns regarding the high price of cotton and cotton yarn.
Tirupur’s apparel exporters have already announced that they are going on strike on 17 and 18 January on this issue.
Now, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has written a letter to the Ministry of Textiles in this regard. The council has requested the Ministry to suggest the mills to bring down the yarn price by Rs. 40 per kilogram.
The cotton price per candy in October 2021 was Rs. 67,000 and yarn price Rs. 331. The cotton price was increased to Rs. 74,000 this January – a hike of Rs. 7,000, with the yarn price set at Rs. 401 (an increase of Rs.70).
A. Sakhtivel, Chairman, AEPC said, “The rise in the prices is not according to the formula adopted by the industry. According to its price increasing formula, for every Rs. 1,000 increase in the cotton price, the yarn price will also be increased between Rs.3.50 and Rs.4. But now, with an increase of Rs.7,000 in the price of the cotton, the yarn price reached Rs.401… whereas it should be around Rs.359.”
Lalit Thukral, President, Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC) and an executive member of AEPC said that the mills have been increasing the prices frequently and arbitrarily, the buyers or importers are not willing to increase the prices as well. This has made the situation worse for the exporters, especially those in Noida and Greater Noida.