Representatives of the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA) met senior textile officials in Tiruppur to discuss key industry concerns, including cotton import duties, labour shortages, export growth and support for MSMEs.
The meeting was held during the visit of Vrunda Manohar Desai, who recently assumed office as Textile Commissioner under the Union Ministry of Textiles, along with R. Lalitha, Textile Commissioner of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Discussions focused on the current status of the knitwear sector, technological advancements, skill development initiatives, environmental sustainability measures and future growth opportunities for the textile industry.
Earlier in the day, the officials visited Poppys Knitwear Pvt. Ltd. in Tirupur, where they met A. Sakthivel, who is also Chairman of AEPC.
During the interaction, Sakthivel urged the government to extend the RoSCTL scheme for another three years, reduce cotton import duty to zero and strengthen support for technological upgradation among MSME enterprises.
General Secretary – TEA, N. Thirukumaran stated during a separate meeting at Estee Exports India Pvt. Ltd. that timely government intervention and supportive policy measures could help Tirupur play an even larger role in boosting India’s textile exports.
He also highlighted the sector’s potential to generate large-scale employment opportunities.
Speaking at a meeting held at Poppys Vista Hotel, K. M. Subramanian, President – TEA, said the Tirupur knitwear cluster contributed nearly 68% of India’s total knitwear exports and recorded exports worth Rs. 44,747 crore (US $4.66 billion) during FY ’25.
He added that Tirupur is home to more than 2,500 exporters and over 20,000 manufacturing units, with nearly 90% belonging to the MSME sector. According to him, the industry currently provides direct and indirect employment to more than one million people.
Subramanian also highlighted an estimated labour shortage of nearly 20% in the sector and urged the Central Government to provide additional subsidies for affordable accommodation facilities for migrant workers.
He further requested support from the Tamil Nadu government for organising the upcoming IKF exhibition in Tirupur and proposed inviting international speakers from Textile Exchange to participate in Bharat Tex 2026.
A memorandum submitted during the meeting outlined the specific support required by the Tirupur knitwear sector to fully leverage trade opportunities arising from various Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
Senior members of the association, including Joint Secretaries Kumar Durasamy and M. Anand, along with other executive committee members, also participated in the discussions.
