K M Subramanian, president of the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, stated that the Export Promotion Mission and a five-year plan to increase cotton production, which was announced in the Union Budget, would increase knitwear companies’ exports and reduce manufacturing costs.
According to Subramanian, the budget contained encouraging announcements, such as the creation of the Export Promotion Mission, which is led by the Ministries of Finance, MSME, and Commerce and has sectoral and ministerial goals.
Subramanian highlighted that the initiative aimed at boosting cotton productivity would help lower cotton prices and improve the availability of high-quality cotton. He pointed out that around 80 per cent of the Tirupur knitwear sector’s total production consists of cotton garments. Additionally, he mentioned that the recent increase in MSME turnover limits addresses a long-standing demand from the sector.
He mentioned that MSMEs with investments up to US $ 14.34 million (Rs 125 crore) will now be classified as medium enterprises, a significant increase from the previous threshold of US $ 5.7 million (Rs 50 crore). When asked if the announcements were sufficient to address the challenges faced by the ready-made garment export sector, he responded that they would continue to seek additional support from the Centre.
