TIRUPPUR: Knitwear manufacturers in Tiruppur have raised the prices of fabrics and garments by 7%, citing factors such as the rising cost of raw materials driven by the ongoing war in the Middle East.
S Shanmugasundaram, President of South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association (SIHMA), told TNIE that the price of polybags has risen from Rs 140 per kg to Rs 240 within the last 15 days.
S Shanmugasundaram said, "The hosiery and knitwear industry in Tiruppur is facing an unprecedented crisis - a crisis of a magnitude we have not seen before. The ongoing war in the Middle East has caused petroleum-based raw materials - dyeing chemicals, polyester yarn, polybags, and similar inputs - to skyrocket.
Some items have seen an 80% price increase. Beyond the price rise, there is now a supply shortage. Raw materials are simply not available, and manufacturers are being forced to procure at whatever price is quoted, just to keep production running."
"Further, cotton and yarn prices have been rising continuously. Cotton price has risen to Rs 22 per kg in three months. In addition, new wage hikes for workers and dyeing charges, sewing thread prices, elastic prices, and packaging material costs have all surged simultaneously. Together, these factors have pushed our industry into a severe cost crisis," he added.
"We have not passed on any price increase to the market in the past two-and-a-half years. We planned to raise the price by 5% at the beginning of January, but we did not. Taking all of this into account, a minimum increase of 10% was required just to break even on costs. However, on Wednesday, we have collectively decided to implement a price increase of only 7%," he added.
Tiruppur had exported knitwear worth Rs 44,747 crore and domestic trade worth Rs 30,000 cr, in the 2024-25 FY. Knitwear products from Tiruppur are going to major cities in all states in India. In this, most domestic brands set their own prices for their products.
Similarly, the Tiruppur Domestic Garments Manufacturers Association (TIDGMA) has increased the rate for domestic knitwear by 5%, effective Wednesday.
Furthermore, the Dyers Association of Tiruppur (DAT) has already raised its rates for these reasons. P Gandhirajan, President of DAT, said, "Due to the war in the Middle East, the prices of raw materials, including industrial gas and chemicals, essential to our business, have risen sharply. Also, there is shortage of gas supply. Accordingly, we are forced to increase the rates by `10 per kg for light colour fabrics, Rs 15 for medium colour, and Rs 20 for dark colours.
Similarly, elastic manufacturers have also issued announcements regarding price hikes and production stoppages. RP Govindasamy, President of Tiruppur Elastic Manufacturers and Traders Association, said, "Due to the war, the price of polyester yarn has risen by 35% over the past 15 days. Its price has risen from Rs 104 per kg to Rs 37.
Similarly, the price of rubber has risen from Rs 235 to Rs 280 per kg. Therefore, to bear this, we have announced a 25% price hike starting Wednesday. Furthermore, we have reduced our production from 30 million meters per day to 15 million meters. If this situation continues, there will be no other option but to stop production."