TIRUPUR: Prices of branded innerwear, nightwear, t-shirts and kidswear are set to increase by 7% across the country as the South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association (SIHMA), Tirupur, has announced a hike citing rising production costs.SIHMA vice-president S. Balachandar said Tirupur’s domestic knitwear industry, valued at around Rs 30,000 crore, produces a wide range of garments including innerwear and outerwear such as t-shirts, tracks, nightwear and kids wear. Around 2,500 units are engaged in production, providing employment to more than five lakh workers directly and indirectly.“Around 750 branded companies, including Ramraj, Poomex, Poomer, DSP, Prisma, Prithvi, SKC, Twin Birds, ESSDEE, Priya, Rupa, Dollar, Dixcy, LUX, Tantex are members of the organization. The price hike comes amid a sharp increase in input costs. Key raw materials such as cotton, polyester, dyeing, sewing thread, elastic, polybag and boxes have risen by 15–40%. Overall production costs have increased by around 15%, prompting manufacturers to raise prices by 7% from Wednesday,” said Balachandar.Balachandar noted that innerwear for the domestic market is made using 90% cotton and 10% man-made fibre (MMF), while outerwear uses a 50:50 mix of cotton and MMF.He said cotton prices had increased by 5% and polyester by 35%, while dyeing and sewing thread costs had gone up by 20% each, elastic by 25%, boxes by 10% and polybags by 40%. “Despite these pressures, manufacturers have opted for a partial price hike of 7% for now,” he added.He pointed out that MSMEs are facing financial strain as suppliers, who earlier allowed payment cycles of 35 to 45 days, are now demanding immediate payment. “Production has already dropped by 25% over the past 10 days due to these challenges,” he said.
