TN: Textile units stops prod to press demands

Coimbatore, Jul 10: Around 4,500 small, medium and large textile mills in the organised and smallscale industries sector stopped production yesterday, as part of the nation-wide protest, demanding that cotton export be suspended till the end of the this year.

Textile Mills Association, Tamil Nadu, in a statement here said the demand also includes zero duty on cotton import, withdrawal of export incentive on cotton, channelising and restricting the quantity of cotton export, reducing the margin money for working capital from 25 to 10 per cent at seven per cent interest rate on par with agricultural loan.

The Association demanded that the State Government ensure uninterrupted power supply, distribute the power uniformly across the state, among other things.

The Indian textile industry, which was reeling under recession during the last two years was currently facing severe problem due to the abnormal hike in cotton prices and shortage of power.

Despite a record bumper of 315 lakh cotton bales during the current season, the domestic industry was seriously affected due to liberal export of cotton, around 100 lakh bales as against 65 lakh bales, the estimate made by Cotton Advisory Board during the beginning of the cotton season. This has depleted the stock-to-use ratio to below 20 per cent as against over 40 per cent maintained by other competing countries like China, thus soaring up of cotton prices, the statement added.

UNI