Buoyant cotton market set to revive sick mills

With cotton consumption in the country on an upward trend and export potential looking promising, the Union ministry of textiles is on a drive to revive sick textile mills.

Many textile mills in the country are in a technological upgradation mode with the installation of their own power plants and latest textile machinery.

Speaking to Business Standard, textile minister Shankarsinh Vaghela, said, "To meet the rising demand of the domestic market as well as for export purposes, we are reviving 15 National Textiles Corporation (NTC) mills which are partially closed as of now. We are in the process of equipping these mills with modern machinery in our drive to upgrade textiles mills."

It's not only the NTC mills that are in the modernisation mode, various mills across the country too are capitalising on the rising demand by installing latest equipment and adding new production facilities.

On modernisation of Ahmedabad-based textiles mills, Abhinav Shukla, general secretary of Ahmedabad Textile Mills' Association (ATMA), said "Owners of our member mills are equipping their mills with latest technology and methods. The demand has been such that many of them have had to increase their working shifts from one to two or two to three shifts. Almost all of our member mills have their own power plants."

Many mills are also mulling opening their own retail outlets of finished goods.

"At the moment, very few cotton fabric manufacturers have their own retail outlets of value-added textiles products but many more are planning to start manufacturing readymade garments and opening their own retails. This is a clear indication of rising domestic demand of cotton fabric," he said.

According to latest figures released by the office of the textiles commissioner, the Indian textiles mills' cotton fabric production has gone up from 19,300 mn sq mt in 2003-04 to 23,780 mn sq mt in 2005-06 and has already produced 8,505 mn sq mt of cotton fabric in the current 2006-07 during April to July, whereas during the corresponding period of the previous year, cotton fabric production stood at 7,640 mn sq mt.

"The domestic consumption of cotton textiles has gone up manifolds not only in Gujarat but all across the country. The rise in domestic consumption can also be reflected in the increasing cotton production in the last few years. Last year, we produced 243 lakh bales of cotton and expect it to reach around 270 lakh bales this year. A major share of this produce is consumed by the domestic market. After meeting the domestic demand, we are exporting the excess produce," said Vaghela.