Garment manufacturers in Tamil Nadu seek government assistance for Indian supply contracts

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 2, 2019

Garment manufacturers from Tamil Nadu have sought assistance from the central government for their supply contracts in the domestic market. 

The Indian Texpreneurs Federation wrote a letter to the Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani to petition the government to assist garment manufacturers in the area as they face increasing competition for their domestic contracts from international businesses. The manufacturers want the government to assist them in securing supply contracts from Indian retailers and brands.

“Indian clusters can better serve the sourcing needs of both Western and Indian brands than products sourced from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Indonesia,” read the ITF’s letter, accessed by ET Bureau.

The government has continued to support an increase in domestic production in a number of industries, especially textiles and clothing. Although the government has launched a number of schemes to this end, many garment manufacturing businesses are facing increased competition from countries such as Sri Lanka which, often due to lower tariffs, can produce cheaper goods.

The ITF represents over 560 textile businesses and has a combined turnover of Rs 40,000 crore ($6 billion). The organisation represents industrial clusters across the state of Tamil Nadu including in the garment production hubs of Coimbatore and Tirupur.