NASHIK: The powerloom sector in Malegaon, which produces grey cloth worth about Rs 45 crore daily, will be observing a week-long closure from Tuesday due to a sharp fall in demand and sky-rocketing yarn prices over the past one month.
A decision in this regard has been taken by the All Malegaon Powerloom Weavers Association, an apex body of different powerlooms in the textile town .
“Traders from cities like Balotra and Pali in Rajasthan, Surat, Mumbai, Eorde in Tamil Nadu have almost stopped buying our product. To make things worse, some of them have not cleared outstanding dues. Our inventory is piling up,” Ansari Nehal Ahmed Danewala, one of the conveners of the association, said on Tuesday.
“The situation had remarkably improved for a couple of months after we resumed operations in June, but things took a turn for the worse over the last one month. If there is no marked improvement in market conditions, we could announce another closure,” he said.
There are over three lakh powerlooms owned by around 6,000 people in Malegaon while the daily production of grey cloth from these powerlooms is 3 crore metres.
Sajid Ansari, another senior member of the association, attributed the steep rise in yarn prices to the powerloom owners’ problems. “What has compounded our woes is that the prices of different qualities of yarn that we buy from various places in south India have hit the roof. We have been forced to decide for this closure to save ourselves from deep financial crisis,” he said.
The powerloom industry in Malegaon is the mainstay of the local economy and thousands of workers from the town and outside are employed in the units.