Amaravati, Oct 11 (KNN) Andhra Pradesh Textile Mills Association chairman Lanka Raghurami Reddy on Tuesday said that they had operated textile mills with 50 per cent capacity earlier but now they decided to close down due to soaring operational costs and mounting losses.

Terming the phase as the worst crisis textile industry faced in its history,  Reddy said, “The recession which has set into the industry has now turned into an all-time low due to soaring cotton prices, increase in bank interest rate, high transportation cost and shortage of power and labour.”

As per reports, in Andhra Pradesh there are 125 textile mills with a combined capacity of 35 lakh spindles out of which only 100 textile mills are running to a capacity of 40 per cent. The main reason for this situation is the sluggish demand and fall in prices of cotton. Thousands of bales are lying in cold storages due to lack of demand.

“We also urge the Centre to regulate MCX trading and control the middlemen who are buying cotton at lower prices,” he said.

The entry of multinational giants into the market has hit the domestic textile industry, the largest organised labour sector in the country, and has given scope for speculation resulting in the steep hike of cotton prices.

“For instance, in spite of the record bumper crop of 3.15 crore bales during the current season as against the requirement of 2.4 crore bales, cotton prices have shot up by 40 per cent to 50 per cent,” he added.

The Textile Mills Association has also appealed to the Central and State governments to release the pending arrears.  (KNN Bureau)