Small-scale textile mills and open-end spinning mills in Tamil Nadu on Friday called off the indefinite strike announced almost a week ago, following talks with state government ministers and officials.
Mills had earlier said that they were unable to continue production as there was no demand or viable price for the yarn.
meeting in chennai
Ministers Thangam Thennarasu (Finance), R. Gandhi (Handlooms and Textiles), and TM Anbarasan (Rural Industries) met representatives of textile associations in Chennai.
South India Spinners Association president S. Jagadish Chandran and India Spinning Mill Owners Association President G. Subramaniam said that Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to the Prime Minister demanding withdrawal of 11% import duty on cotton. The central government should also restructure the loan taken by the textile units under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme. A press release said, after the assurance from the state government, “we requested our members to start yarn production and sale in their spinning mills.”
Openend Spinning Mills Association president G. According to Arulmozhi, its member mills that are able to resume operations will do so on Saturday, following Mr Thennarasu’s assurance that issues faced by the textile industry would be taken up with the chief minister and remedial measures announced.
Recycle Textiles Federation president Jaibal said openend spinning mills will gradually stop production from 2022 as demand slows down and prices become unviable. “The mills have run out of funds and hence do not have the resources to continue operating,” he said.
In a joint memorandum submitted to the government, seven textile unions sought measures to bring down the cost of production. One of the demands is reduction in electricity charges for textile mills. TANGEDCO should collect only the recorded demand as maximum demand fee, he said. Federation of Indian Texpreneurs said that the textile mills in the state need one-time support from the state government to upgrade the technology. It also suggested a comprehensive study of the condition of the textile industry by an independent agency.
An official said that the government has listened to the demands of the industry and the central and state governments need to take some steps. The state government will study the measures sought and announce its decisions soon.