Tirupur spinning mills pick up pace to cater to post-pandemic revival

TIRUPUR: After weathering the twin challenges of Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, India’s knitwear hub Tirupur seems to be on the path of revival, with exporters pinning hopes on the positive growth recorded in January to continue its momentum.

Industry insiders said the three-month average negative growth recorded in 2022 was at 24 per cent as it was largely impacted by the recurrence of Covid-19 in various European countries and also due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. So much so, the two issues even altered the Europeans’ pattern of using a particular t-shirt.

“Exports came down between July and December 2022. The three-month average negative growth will be 24 per cent. However, from January it has increased marginally. I would say in dollar terms a 2 per cent rise while in Rupee it is 11 per cent,” Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) president KM Subramanian said.

In the wake of the Ukraine war, several European countries are experiencing higher inflation, increase in prices of fuel, power and mainly essential commodities, he noted. A large number of Europeans have stopped making purchases due to high inflation, which also led to non-clearance of inventories.

For instance, a person in Europe wears a t-shirt three or four times before going in for a new one. “Now due to the impact of COVID and the war, he has started to use the t-shirt 10-15 times. So they have started to be cautious on expenses,” he said.

“Since large traders in this industrial belt are micro, small and medium enterprises units, they largely depend on orders from Europe. They were largely hit due to the impact caused by the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Now there is a positive sign with the industry witnessing a 1.5 per cent growth in January,” Subramanian said.

“Now, the spinning mills are being operated on a daily basis because of rising demand. This is a positive sign for exports,” he noted.

“Actually, if you see the growth in January it is 1.5 per cent growth recorded on exports. It is not a huge jump compared to the same period last year,” a senior official of a knitwear unit said but seemed hopeful over things looking up for the labour-intensive sector.