Surat: The powerloom weavers in the city have unanimously decided not to purchase yarn from the spinners due to steep rise in prices over the last fortnight.
The decision was taken during a meeting of the Federation of Gujarat Weavers Association (FOGWA) on Saturday.
With the Central government imposing anti-dumping duty on caprolactum — a raw material used to manufacture nylon yarn — the prices of nylon filament yarn have gone up by Rs 50 per kg in the local market, giving a tough time to the powerloom weavers.
Industry sources said that the Gujarat State Fertiliser Corporation (GSFC) is the sole producer of caprolatum and supply to many domestic nylon spinners for producing nylon textile grade chips and in turn they produce nylon textile yarn.
Surat is a major consumer of nylon filament yarn used in various garments and in other applications. The textile sector has a monthly consumption of 10,000 metric tonnes of nylon filaments, which accounts for about 70% of the total consumption of India.
Vimal Bekawala, secretary of Nylon Weavers Association (NWA) told TOI, “The nylon fabric weavers are unable to survive due to the steep rise in the nylon yarn prices in the last nine months. At present, the weavers are facing a shortage of workers and finance due to the coronavirus pandemic.” He alleged that the nylon spinners have formed a cartel to increase the prices.”
“We have unanimously taken the decision to discontinue the purchase of nylon yarn to protest against the artificial price hike,” added Bekawala.
Ashok Jirawala, president of FOGWA told TOI that the consumption of nylon yarn in Surat is pegged at 10,000 metric tonnes per month, which is just 9% of the overall yarn consumption in Surat. “About 25,000 powerloom machines are manufacturing nylon yarn. Despite this, the nylon spinners are increasing the prices in the name of freight charges and short supply of nylon chips in the international market.”
Industry sources, however, said that nylon fabric manufacturers are struggling to increase their fabric prices due to poor demand.