C. Joseph Vijay has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to abolish the existing 11 per cent import duty on cotton, stating that rising raw material prices are severely impacting Tamil Nadu’s textile and apparel industry.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Vijay highlighted that escalating cotton and yarn prices are placing significant financial strain on garment manufacturers and threatening the livelihoods of lakhs of workers employed in the sector, particularly women in rural and semi-urban regions.
He noted that Tamil Nadu, which is India’s leading textile and apparel exporting state, relies heavily on the industry for both direct and indirect employment generation.
According to the Chief Minister, cotton prices have risen sharply from Rs 54,700 to Rs 67,700 per candy over the last two months, while yarn prices have increased from Rs 301 per kg to Rs 330 per kg during the same period.
He attributed the surge to lower domestic cotton availability and intensified trading activities, which have disrupted supply chains and created difficulties for textile manufacturers.
Vijay stated that imports are now essential to ensure uninterrupted raw material supply, but the current import duty is making cotton imports expensive and reducing the competitiveness of the industry.
He stressed that allowing duty-free cotton imports would help manufacturers fulfil export commitments, stabilise the textile value chain, safeguard employment, and improve India’s position in the global textile market.
Emphasising the importance of the sector as one of the country’s largest employment generators after agriculture, the Chief Minister urged the Union government to immediately reduce the cotton import duty to zero to support the long-term sustainability of the textile and apparel industry.