Small-scale textile mills and openend spinning mills in Tamil Nadu have called off the indefinite strike they announced about a week ago, following talks with the State government Ministers and officials on Friday.
The mills had earlier said they were unable to continue production as there was no demand or viable price for yarn.
Meeting in Chennai
Ministers Thangam Thennarasu (Finance), R. Gandhi (Handlooms and Textiles), and T.M. Anbarasan (Rural Industries) met the representatives of textile associations in Chennai.
South India Spinners Association president S. Jagadesh Chandran and India Spinning Mill Owners Association president G. Subramaniam said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had written to the Prime Minister seeking withdrawal of 11% import duty on cotton. The Union government should also restructure the loans taken by the textile units under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme. Following assurances from the State government, “We requested our members to start yarn production and sale in their spinning mills,” a press release said.
According to G. Arulmozhi, president of the Openend Spinning Mills Association, following Mr. Thennarasu’s assurance that the issues faced by the textile industry would be taken up with the Chief Minister and remedial measures would be announced, its member mills that are able to resume operations will do so on Saturday.
Jayabal, president of Recycle Textile Federation, said the openend spinning mills stopped production gradually from 2022 as demand slowed down and prices were not viable. “The mills have exhausted funds and hence do not have resources to continue operations,” he said.
In a joint memorandum submitted to the government, seven textile associations sought measures to bring down production cost. One demand is reduction in electricity charges for textile mills. Tangedco should collect only the recorded demand as the maximum demand charges, they said. The Indian Texpreneurs Federation said textile mills in the State need a one-time support from the State government to upgrade technology. It also suggested a comprehensive study by an independent agency of the status of the textile industry.
An official said the government listened to the demands of the industry and there were measures that need to be taken by the Central and State governments. The State government would study the measures sought from it and announce its decisions soon.