COIMBATORE: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said Coimbatore and Tiruppur will be the “twin engines” that would lead the country in the textile manufacture and export industry in the coming years.After inaugurating the 13th Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) Texfair at Codisssia trade fair complex in Coimbatore on Saturday, he said the textile industry will export products worth more than Rs 8 lakh in the next five years.
“Coimbatore is a leading industrial hub, not only for textile production but also for the manufacture of spinning machinery, spare parts and industrial by-products. The city is a prime example of the success of MSMEs.” He added that Coimbatore is also famous for manufacturing defence products.
He said the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Mauritius, the UAE and Australia has been reached in a very short period and that talks with the UK, Canada and the EU will be concluded soon.“I heard there is no other place in the country with the most number of textile units than TN, which is quite impressive. I’d also like to compliment the city’s role in the supply of PPE kits,” he added.
He said the Centre is looking at the possibility to privatise the NTC mills in the country that have been shut since the outbreak of Covid, adding that the Union government is set to roll out a second Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the textiles industry, to further boost the manufacturing and export of textiles.“With cotton prices declining gradually, we don’t see a need to extend the tax exemption given for cotton imports. We will take a call on extending it for a month,” he said.
Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Sakkarapani, Minister for Textiles R Gandhi, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan and BJP Tamil Nadu President Annamalai were present at the fair, which was presided over by SIMA President Ravi Sam. Sakkarapani submitted a memorandum to start paddy procurement for the year 2022-23 from September 1 to Goyal.