TIRUPPUR: Industrialists in Tiruppur are keen on joining hands with investors from outside the state though not keen to make investments outside, said chieftains of the industry bodies.
Industry leaders also expressed willingness to start businesses in collaboration with Odisha-based investors. This was in response to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's recent invite to local businesses to start ventures in Odisha.
Pradhan had invited industrialists in Tiruppur during his recent visit to the city CL Kumar Duraiswamy, Joint Secretary of Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA), said, "The Union Minister called for starting businesses in Odisha. But it's not easy for us to go there immediately and start a business. We have agreed to provide appropriate suggestions and guidance to investors from that state. After this, we will consider starting joint ventures with them. In other words, investors from Odisha will make most of the investment and our share will be minor."
Duraiswamy said local knitwear businesses may have to tie-up with parties outside the state when orders shoot up. "The influx of knitwear orders to India is likely to increase significantly in the coming days due to the new trade agreements that India concludes. The trade agreement we recently reached with the UK is important. Such growth initiatives will increase the inflow of orders. Therefore, it is not possible to handle all orders only in Tiruppur. We should also consider this," he added.
But TEA President KM Subramaniam said in the current environment, knitwear manufacturers in Tiruppur have no plan to venture outside the state.
"Tiruppur knitwear industry is receiving calls from various states of India to start businesses in their respective states. But on our side, no one is ready for immediate investment," he said.
On Friday, spinning mills increased the price of cotton yarn used in knitwear production by Rs 5 per kg for all counts. For example, the price of 20s combed cotton yarn has increased from Rs 246 to Rs 251 per kg. (20s refers to yarn count)
Subramaniam urged the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to take appropriate measures to keep cotton prices stable to control the rise in yarn prices.