Tirupur’s knitwear trade ahead of Diwali has reached about Rs 8,500 crore, but manufacturers and traders say the higher value reflects increased prices and input costs rather than stronger order volumes, exposing pressure on the city’s textile-led industrial economy.
R Dhamodharan, general secretary of the South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association, said Diwali trade inquiries began towards the end of August and dispatches started in the first week of September. Tirupur-made garments are supplied across Tamil Nadu as well as to Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Kolkata, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The seasonal consignments include T-shirts, track pants, children’s wear, women’s wear and innerwear. Industry representatives estimated domestic trade at more than Rs 8,000 crore this year, compared with about Rs 7,300 crore to Rs 7,500 crore last year. However, manufacturers said the increase was mainly in the value of goods sold, with physical order volumes broadly unchanged from the previous year.
Manufacturers attributed the pressure to higher prices of yarn, dyeing services, elastic and packaging materials such as cartons. Garment prices were raised by about 10% to 15%, although manufacturers said their costs warranted an increase of 20% to 25%. They said weak demand prevented them from passing on the full increase, leaving many units operating on thin margins to avoid losses.
The industry has also linked input-cost conditions to cotton policy. Manufacturers said yarn prices had not risen recently after the Centre relaxed import duty on cotton. They have sought an extension of the duty relaxation for another year, arguing that lower input costs would help the industry use duty-free trade agreements and improve exports.
The slowdown is more visible in Tirupur’s Khaderpet area, a major wholesale and retail apparel market with more than 800 outlets. Traders there said Diwali-season business was down by around 30% compared with last year, citing slower-than-expected wholesale demand. They also attributed part of the decline in retail sales to online commerce, which has affected store footfalls.
Traders said only about 300 bundles a day were leaving Khaderpet, compared with around 500 bundles during earlier festival seasons. The figures point to a mismatch between the headline value of the festival trade and the quantity moving through the supply chain, with higher prices masking weaker or stagnant demand.
The pattern places pressure across Tirupur’s connected manufacturing network, including garment units, dyeing operations, packaging suppliers, wholesalers and retail outlets. The industry’s immediate requests centre on maintaining lower cotton import costs, while traders and manufacturers continue to manage demand that has not expanded in line with higher prices.
