Yarn market weakens in November 2025 as tariff and import pressures mount

India's fiber and yarn market displayed weakness throughout November 2025, due to the converging negative factors: persistently soft demand, a flood of expected polyester imports, and the disappointment of fading hopes for US tariff relief.

The single biggest inhibitor remained the high US tariffs, which reached 50 per cent by the end of August 2025 on many Indian labor-intensive sectors, including textiles and apparel. This tariff burden directly impacted export volumes, with India's overall T&A exports to the US falling by 12.91 per cent in October 2025 compared to the previous year. Some analysts suggested an even steeper 31.9 per cent decline in overall textiles and garments to the US over the preceding five months.

The primary catalyst for the rise in imports was the government’s decision on November 12, 2025, to revoke the mandatory Quality Control Orders (QCOs) on polyester (MMF) products, including polyester fiber, polyester yarn, and raw materials (PTA and MEG). For years, the industry had protested that these QCOs forced them to buy from domestic suppliers at prices 10 per cent to 30 per cent higher than global benchmarks.

The revocation immediately made it cheaper and easier to import polyester. Traders quickly began booking large consignments in November. The mere expectation that this cheaper imported material would flood the domestic market in December caused domestic polyester yarn prices to dip in Surat, as buyers postponed new purchases, bracing for further price declines upon the imports' arrival.