With one month left for Deepavali, the shops at E.K.M. Abdul Gani Textile Market (Gani Market) in the city witnessed brisk sales on Tuesday.
The weekly market with 740 shops began on Monday night and went on till late Tuesday, as traders from across the State thronged the market and made bulk purchases.
“About 80% of the regular traders arrived at the market and the business was good,” said S. Sakthivel, secretary, Erode Gani Market Weekly Textile Trader’s Association. He told The Hindu that due to COVID-19 pandemic, traders from Karnataka did not turn up. “Merchants from various districts in the State visited the market and purchased materials for Deepavali,” he said.
While traders prefer Mumbai and Kolkata for readymade garments and Surat for saris, they buy dhotis from Erode, Salem and Namakkal districts and towels from Uttukuli in Tiruppur district. Other garments are from Tiruppur, he said.
Due to the return of workforce to North India, hike in price of yarn and closure of dyeing units, there is a 30% drop in overall production, he added. Mr. Selvaraj said that they expected good business for the next three weeks.
A few traders expressed confidence that increase in cash flow among people would improve their business. “The pandemic had kept people away from buying materials in the last seven months. But, now they are ready for the festival season,” said a trader.