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Chief Minister's Plea on Cotton Import Duty and Textile Crisis

Friday, May 15, 2026
5 min read
Chief Minister's Plea on Cotton Import Duty and Textile Crisis

Chief Minister Vijay sent a letter to Prime Minister Modi. It was an urgent plea, really. He was pushing hard to get rid of that 11% import duty on cotton.

The reason behind it felt critical. He was talking about the looming crisis in the textile sector. You know, the one that employs so many rural women in the state.

He felt the situation was severe. Prices for cotton and yarn were shooting up. That caused a real bottleneck. Production shortages, increased trading—it all pushed prices higher.

Vijay wrote that Tamil Nadu is huge in textiles and apparel. Lakhs of people depend on that industry, direct and indirect jobs. Especially women from rural and semi-urban areas.

He pointed out the strain. The industry is facing a severe crisis right now because of those cotton and yarn price hikes. It seemed tied directly to shortages in production and general trading activity across the country.

The numbers he provided were stark. Cotton prices jumped by 25% in just the last two months. It went from Rs 54,700 to Rs 67,700 per candy.

Yarn prices followed suit. They went from Rs 301 to Rs 330 per kg. That meant a serious raw material shortage for everyone involved.

“The price of cotton increased by 25% in the last two months,” he wrote.

And the yarn prices? From 301 to 330 per kg. That shortage meant raw materials just couldn’t keep up.

He made it clear then. If the supply chain is broken like this, the only way to ensure raw material availability is through imports. But there’s that 11% import duty hanging over it.

“In this situation,” Vijay stated, “the continued supply of raw material can only be ensured through imports. However, there is an import duty of 11% on cotton.”

He then laid out the bigger picture. Textiles, agriculture, and apparel are the biggest jobs creators there. Especially for those women.

He felt the government had a massive responsibility. To safeguard those jobs. To ensure the textile value chain stays sustainable.

“Permitting duty-free cotton imports will help the industry meet increasing export commitments,” he argued. It helps them stay competitive globally.

He appealed directly to the Centre. Asked for intervention. To slash that import duty. He asked for it to go from the existing 11% down to zero.

The goal, he stressed, was clear. To ensure raw material availability. To let the textile and apparel industry compete globally. And most importantly, to protect those jobs. That was the core demand in his letter.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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