Condemning the huge hike in the prices of cotton and yarn in the last two years, members of Erode Cloth Merchants Association closed down shops for one day on Friday.
Over 3,500 shops located at Kongalamman Kovil Street, Eswaran Kovil Street, N.M.S. Compound, Thiruvenkadam Street and in market areas downed their shutters. The shops account for over 90% of the total textile sales in the city and the usually busy streets where these shops are located wore a deserted look.
Association president K. Kalaiselvan said the price of cotton per candy that was ₹43,000 in 2020 rose to ₹1 lakh now. “Frequent increases in price were affecting the entire textile industry and are on the verge of destruction”, he said and wanted the Central and State governments to take effective steps to regulate the price.
The association president also urged the government to bring cotton and yarn in the essential commodities list for controlling the price. He said that over 4,000 textile shops and associated shops were closed affecting transactions to the tune of ₹50 crore. He welcomed the decision of the Central government to remove import duty on cotton and said that the move will help in bringing down prices of yarn and fabrics.
