Apparel exporters in Tiruppur, Noida, to shut down for 10-15 days a month

Apparel exporters in Tiruppur and Noida have opted to close their manufacturing operations for 10-15 days every month to save operational costs amid a shortage of overseas orders, a report by The Economic Times (ET) said.

However, the apparel exporting units have not yet decided to lay off any employees, executives told ET.

Around 80 per cent of units in Noida have a month's orders in hand, while orders in Tiruppur have decreased 40-50 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY).

According to Tiruppur's exporters, no major orders have been placed by global brands for this year's Christmas season. "We are now waiting for spring-summer orders for next year, which are placed in September," said Raja Shanmugam, owner of Warsaw International, a knitwear company.

The slowdown in key markets such as the US and the European Union (EU) has impacted knitwear exports from the Tiruppur cluster, Asia's largest textile export hub, which accounts for more than half of India's knitwear exports. The Tiruppur cluster has 30,000 units, including ancillary units as well.

"Because the order position is poor, the units will be shut down for 10-15 days every month. This will assist the units in controlling operational expenses even though the profit margins will also be affected. The situation is expected to improve in September, when global orders may start coming in," said Shanmugam, a former head of the Tiruppur Exporters Association.