Small-scale textile mills seek policy support from Central government

The South India Spinners Association has sought two urgent measures from the Central government for survival of the small-scale textile mills.

The Association said in a press release that the mills should have access to raw materials – cotton and manmade fibre – at competitive prices.

During the last two financial years, the textile sector in Tamil Nadu had seen closure of mills, loss of livelihood, and lack of opportunities. The raw material prices had crippled the industry and exports markets had moved away. The required policy support from the government did not come through, it said.

The spiralling cost of cotton and other raw materials had made it nearly impossible for mills to keep up production and access to finance was limited as banks were hesitant to lend to an ailing industry.

Without these two support factors, the resilience of the mills remained challenged.

The government should remove the import duty on cotton and the micro and small-scale textile mills need access to credit at reasonable interest rates, it said.