TEA welcomes Budget push for cotton and knitwear growth

The Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA) welcomed the Union Budget’s Export Promotion Mission and a five-year cotton production plan, stating they would enhance knitwear exports and reduce costs.

TEA President K M Subramanian highlighted that the Export Promotion Mission, involving the Ministries of Finance, MSME, and Commerce, sets sector-specific growth targets. He emphasized that the cotton initiative would lower prices and improve access to quality cotton, benefiting the Tiruppur knitwear industry, where cotton garments make up 80 per cent of production. The Budget also raised the MSME turnover threshold, reclassifying enterprises with investments up to $14.34 million (Rs 125 crore) as medium-sized, up from $5.7 million (Rs 50 crore). Subramanian noted this as a long-pending demand of the sector.

While these measures are positive, he acknowledged that additional support is needed to tackle industry challenges. TEA will continue to push for further assistance from the Centre.