KARUR: Karur textile manufacturing and export industries are bracing themselves as the textile industry is likely to witness a loss of around `1,000 crore, with the annual international textile expo scheduled to take place in Germany getting cancelled owing to Omicron scare. Karur is one of the largest hubs in the country for manufacturing and exporting household textiles.
It is also famous for kitchen and household textiles, both domestically and internationally. For more than 25 years, manufacturers and exporters from the district have been participating in the annual international textile fair which takes place in Germany. The fair is one of the major trading spots for the industrialists as Karur industries receive around 60 per cent of their total orders in this expo through international buyers.
The annual international textile fair was set to take place in Frankfurt, Germany, from January 11 to 14. However, owing to the rapid rise in Omicron variant cases in European countries, the fair has been cancelled. One of the leading textile manufacturers and exporters in Karur, Dr Stiffen Babu, told TNIE,
"As buyers and manufacturers from numerous countries take part in the international textile fair, there are high chances for Omicron transmission. As a precautionary measure, the organisers, Messe Frankurt, have suspended the expo. Several orders have been cancelled already by the regular buyers. This fair is very vital for textile industries, not just for the industries in Karur but across the country as majority of our trade happens through this expo. Around 350 to 365 textile industries from India take part in the fair, out of which 45 are from Karur. We, industrialists, had spent huge sums and already sent samples to Germany. After suspension of the fair, we had to cancel all our tickets and hotel bookings. This is the second consecutive time the fair has been cancelled due to the pandemic, after it was cancelled in January. The textile industry is likely to witness a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore due to this."
The textile fair, apart from being a platform to receive business orders, has also been serving as an educational expo, where industrialists learn about the current global trends in terms of design, styling, colours and buying capacity among others. The organisers are also checking on the feasibility to conduct the fair from June 21 to 24 next year, industrialists said.