The garment exporting units in Tiruppur, which are seeing shoots of demand revival, are said to be facing labour shortage to the tune of nearly 20%. However, the factories supplying to the domestic market are yet to see a complete turnaround.
Tiruppur Exporters and Manufacturers Association (TEMA) president M.P. Muthurathinam said the total turnover of ₹64,000 crore by the exporters and domestic suppliers in Tiruppur has almost equal contribution by both the segments. While there are indications of revival for exporters because of encouraging enquiries, the domestic market remains dull. The market remains almost stagnant for the domestic manufacturers. A lot of the small and medium-scale units transitioned to manmade fibres from cotton in the last two years. With high temperature in different parts of the country this summer, the demand for synthetic garments is low, he said.
Palanisamy, manufacturer of basic garments in Tiruppur for the local market, says the sales last month was almost the same as was registered in April two years ago. “But, the units will revive only if this trend continues,” he said. Several stitching units were busy in March. However, the processing and compacting units are yet to revive because the garment makers are able to source imported fabric at low costs.
Further, almost 25% of the small and medium-scale units shut shop in the last two years in Tiruppur because of the dip in demand. Hence, the current volume of orders of basic wear are keeping the existing units busy. The exact market situation will be known in the next three to four months, he said.
The domestic manufacturers also say that some of the large-scale producers have moved to the northern States where they are getting several concessions.
The trend in orders in terms of the raw materials used and volume will be clear in the coming months. While there are orders for the domestic units too, there is no clarity on how it will be in the coming months, they said.
