Abnormal rise in price of cotton yarn hits the textile industry in Karur

The price of cotton yarn has gone up by about 40% in the last few weeks, dealing a body blow to textile manufacturers in Karur.

| Photo Credit: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

Sharp rise in the price of cotton yarn and the cascading effect on various raw materials in the wake of geopolitical tension in West Asia has hit the textile industry in Karur hard.According to industry sources, the textile manufacturers in Karur source cotton yarn from the mills in Coimbatore, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, and Vellakoil. There is a strong mismatch between demand and supply of thicker yarn for the last six weeks, triggering sharp increase in prices by 30% to 40%. One kg of yarn with high counts is quoted at ₹400, up from ₹300. Textile manufacturers and exporters view that the price rise is highly abnormal.Though the Centre, acting on the demand of the textile industry, has removed the import duty on cotton yarn, the players in Karur said the sops had helped the garment manufacturers in Tiruppur to an extent. The price of yarn used by the garment manufacturing units had come down to 3% to 4%. However, there was no change in the price of thicker yarn used by the textile manufacturers in Karur.“We do not understand the reason behind the increase in price of cotton yarn. Stable price of yarn, which is a key raw material in textile manufacturing, is necessary for the smooth sailing of the industry. The current increase in cotton yarn price is unprecedented. It has hit us very hard,” says P. Gopalakrishnan, president, Karur Textile Manufacturers and Exporters Association.He said the issue had been taken to the notice of the Centre and State governments by the Southern India Mills Association and Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association seeking their intervention to stabilise the yarn prices.The players in Karur added that the geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran had severely affected global trade and international shipping. As a result, the prices of many essential materials required for textile manufacturing — including petroleum-based products such as polyester, chemicals used in dyeing industries, polythene, and packing materials — had witnessed sudden and steep increase. It has added to the woes of the textile manufacturers.Another exporter said that if this situation continued, it could severely affect the operations of the Karur textile industry and create a major negative impact on export growth and employment opportunities. Published - June 06, 2026 04:36 pm IST