Constant rise in the price of cotton yarn has put the home textile industry in Karur in a quandary.

The textile manufacturers in Karur source cotton yarn from the mills in Coimbatore, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, and Vellakoil. Most suppliers, who supply cotton yarn, are members of the Southern India Mills Association and Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association. The price of cotton yarn, a key raw material for textile manufacturing units, witnessed a sudden jump in June during the recent West Asia crisis. It went up by 30% to 40%. One kg of yarn with high counts was quoted at ₹400, up from ₹300. Textile manufacturers and exporters had flagged the issue to the Centre, and the manufacturers termed that the price rise was highly abnormal. Though the Centre, acting on the demand of the textile industry, removed the import duty on cotton yarn, the players in Karur said the sops had helped the garment manufacturers in Tiruppur to an extent.

When the manufacturers and exporters were yet to come to term with abnormal increases in price, the price of yarn had once again shot up. It has gone up by 10% in the last three weeks, thereby raising concern among the manufacturers.

“Constant rise in the price of cotton yarn is a cause of concern. It not only increases the operative cost but also puts pressure on the buyers-exporters relationship. Moreover, it will have a cascading effect on various aspects of manufacturing and exporting,” says P. Gopalakrishnan,” president, Karur Textile Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

The home textile manufacturers in Karur, who primarily export to the U.S. and Europe, said that they had not yet come out from the impact of the recent geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran. 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 — witnessed steep increase. Further increase in cotton yarn price had added to the woes of the textile manufacturers.

Published - August 21, 2026 07:01 pm IST