Textile sector worry of grim situation in offing

COIMBATORE: Even as the issue of spiralling yarn price is yet to settle down, the textile sector in Tirupur may have to face another blow due to the power tariff hike proposed by the state government.

“The corporate units in the textile sector may overcome the crisis as they have established solar parks, windmills, and facilities to tap renewable energy with subsidies availed from the government. Therefore, the impact of the power hike will be felt more on the remaining 90 per cent of MSMEs in the district,” said MP Muthurathinam, president of Tiruppur Exporters and Manufacturers Association. Industrialists argued that the power tariff hike in Tamil Nadu should not be considered low compared with other states. “As our state leads in industrial activity and power consumption is high, the overall impact on power hike may be more drastic on us than any others,” said R Kandavel, who runs a dyeing unit in Tirupur.

Over the last five years, Muthurathinam claimed that 50 per cent of MSMEs in the textile sector have downed shutters due to various factors including rising raw material prices, lack of subsidy from the government and Covid-19 impact. Already, in apparel exports, the country’s contribution stands at a meagre 3.8 per cent, which is lower than several other backward countries like Bangladesh.

“Only Tamil Nadu remains a hub for textile manufacturing. If the power tariff isn’t rolled back, then the situation in the textile sector may go further grim,” he added. In the textile supply chain, various processing units including dyeing, knitting, compacting, printing and embroidery rely on power for manufacturing.