“The cost of rayon fabric has nosedived drastically as against the yarn prices, which have shot up from Rs 150 per cone during Deepavali time to Rs 176 now and that too within a month. Falling prices of fabric have resulted in power loom manufacturers suffering huge loss,” said B Kandhavel, spokesperson of Erode PowerLoom Owners Association. 

Most of the rayan fabric manufacturing units are located in areas such as Chithode, Lakkapuram, Manickampalayam, Veerappanchatiram and Ashokapuram.

The fabric produced in thousands of power loom units here are transported by trucks to be sold in major markets like Delhi, Faridabad, Ahmadabad, Jaipur, Surat and Mumbai.

There, the fabric is dyed and made into clothes for exports.

About 14,000 tonnes of rayon fabric is made daily and lakhs of workers are involved both directly and indirectly in its production. “About 1.5 crore metres of rayon fabric is produced every week by the powerloom units in Erode district. The production halt will lead to a loss of Rs 40 crore and affect about 30,000 workers employed directly and indirectly in the powerloom sector,” he added.