In the present Covid-induced market, the city-based textile sector is confronted with the dual issue of high raw material costs and low demand.
The cost of textile production has risen significantly as yarn spinners and dye and chemical producers raised their costs by 50 to 100 percent.
In the area, around 1,000 textile facilities produce tweed, blazers, shawls, blankets, dress material, suiting, and shirting. It employed thousands of skilled and unskilled employees and had a total yearly revenue of more than Rs 10,000 crore. Despite this, the local textile sector no longer has the moniker “Manchester of India.”
According to Kamal Dalmia, who runs a yarn processing plant, China has become a significant supplier of nearly all ingredients required in the manufacture of textile final goods at a fair price in recent years.
The increase in the price of yarn dyes and chemicals used in the textile industry spurred major domestic yarn spinners and makers of these items to pass the increase on to textile manufacturers.
For example, before the Covid-19, polyester cotton blended yarn cost Rs 175 per kg; now, it costs Rs 250 per kg. Similarly, polyester filament yarn costs Rs 125 per kilogramme, up from Rs 80 previously.
The textile industry, which is second only to agriculture in terms of employment, is already dealing with the effects of demonetisation and GST.
Currently, textile items are not a top priority for the general public. The rise in final product pricing owing to increases in input costs on its core raw materials – yarns, dyes, and chemicals – has further impacted demand for textile products.
Deepak Bajaj, who runs a textile dyeing and printing business, claimed that when the lockdown was lifted, the cost of nearly all dyes and chemicals jumped by 25 to 30 percent. According to him, the processing business was further harmed by a roughly 30% increase in petcock.
