Knitwear exporters based in Tirupur, India, are set to increase their prices by 10 per cent as they look to offset the increases in cost of raw material and other expenses. The Tirupur region, often regarded as the knitwear hub of India, accounted for around 45 per cent of the country’s total knitwear exports in 2017-18, with trade totaling around rs. 240 bn. However, this was down from the rs. 260 bn registered last year with manufacturers having to cope with increased competition from countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam as well as higher cotton prices which have seen a rise of 10-12 per cent. Dye suppliers have also increased prices by around 15 per cent in recent months.
According to the Tirupur Exporter Association, knitwear manufacturers from Tirpur are already at a price disadvantage of around 10-12 per cent after tax incentives were withdrawn. Raja M Shanmugham, the President of the Tirupur Exporter Association, said that the decision to increase prices was taken after a series of discussions on rising cotton yarn prices and higher operating costs such as increasing energy prices.
Shanmugham added that the continuation of the same prices would have certainly led to a difficult situation. It was therefore unanimously decided to demand the buyers for a 10 per cent increase while finalising new orders to compensate for the increase in prices.
