Tiruppur has clocked exports worth Rs 33,525 crore in the 2021-2022 fiscal accounting for 54.2 per cent of the country’s total exports in the sector, an all-time high.
However, exporters are not so happy as the jump is only on the revenue side due to an increase in the prices of raw materials that had an effect on the final price of the merchandise and not in terms of the quantum of goods.
Tiruppur’s share in overall knitwear exports from India has been on the rise – from 42.9 per cent in 2016-17 to 54.2 per cent in 2021-22.
Though a jump of around Rs 10,000 crore from Rs 24,750 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 33,525 crore in 2021-22 – in just about a year is significant, exporters say a non-increase in the quantum would spell doom for the industry as it would mean that the knitwear hub is losing out to countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh who have free access to key markets like the EU.
The rise in input costs, especially the ever-increasing prices of cotton and yarn, is hurting the industry as many are forced to incur losses due to sudden hikes in prices and not many buyers are accepting the hike.
