Joint Committee of Tiruppur Knitwear and Textile Cluster has urged the Union government to fix a minimum floor price for yarn.

This was one of the decisions taken at a recent meeting of garment manufacturers in Tiruppur and some of the textile mill associations in Tamil Nadu.

With the garment manufacturers saying that they were hit by the frequent and steep hike in cotton yarn prices, the joint committee meeting was organised.

The participants demanded the Union government to permit yarn exports only if the export prices shot up above the minimum floor price, which will take into account the cotton rates.

They also sought removal of import duty on cotton for five years, ensuring Tamil Nadu mills received cotton from the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) on a priority bases, and measures to check sale of cotton purchased by large traders from the CCI for exports and sold at the domestic market for higher prices. The Tamil Nadu government should also procure cotton directly from farmers and supply to the mills in the State, the Committee said.

It asked the textile mills to fix the yarn prices once a month or once every two months rather than revising the rates frequently.

The Union government should form a committee involving all stakeholders to monitor and regulate raw material prices, it added.