Powerloom weavers see a jump in demand for grey fabric from African countries

The festival season has seen an unexpected boom this year for powerloom weavers in Somanur, Thekkalur, Avinashi and parts of Palladam in Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts. After more than six years, they see wages rising and demand for fabric increasing.

“Due to the good demand from African countries, the demand for fabrics woven on normal pressure looms was high before 2014. The government also gave incentives for exports to African countries. Later, these export orders decreased. Now the weavers give 20 to 25 kuruş more to the workers doing the work, and the looms are not available as the demand from Africa has revived. The demand is mainly for 50 inch wide fabrics woven from cotton yarn of the 20s.” he said. Bhoopathi, president of Coimbatore District Labor Powerloom Weavers Association.

K. Sakthivel, Chairman of the Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council, says demand from Africa has been declining for several years, mainly due to foreign exchange problems in some African countries. There is a transition between Chinese and Indian exporters in the African market, and this time the demand comes mostly from India. When demand shifts to China, there is a decrease of nearly 20 percent in demand from India. Once India captures the African market, it sees a 20 percent increase in exports. China is not currently focusing on textiles and hence African orders from Indian suppliers have increased.

The demand is for a particular type of fabric; Fabrics woven on normal mechanical looms, not on automatic looms. The African market is also keen on fashion and more than 50 multi-coloured designs are printed and sold to African buyers. Previously there were less than half a dozen designs in two or three colours.

However, he warns that weavers should also be careful. Earlier, the number of power looms in Tamil Nadu doing weaving for the African market was around 35,000. Now it is around 25,000. Weavers now earn better wages. But they should not switch entirely to the diversity demanded in Africa. He said capacity needs to be increased carefully and weavers need to strike a balance between the markets they cater to.

Openend Yarn Enterprises Association President G. Arulmozhi said that there is a good demand from weavers for 20, 25 and 30 count yarns. The mills charge only nominal price for the yarn but the demand is huge and many mills which were earlier serving the Tiruppur and Karur markets have now switched to the demanded varieties. He said most of the open-ended facilities were operating at full capacity due to Africa’s exports.

Mr. Sakthivel added that the Tamil Nadu government should support weavers to set up a finishing unit in the state. “If we have a finishing facility, exports worth ₹1,500 crore can move from western states to Tamil Nadu. Currently, we are supplying the fabric to exporters in Maharashtra or Gujarat,” he said.