West Asia conflict pushes up yarn prices, adds to Sircilla weavers’ woes

Weavers in Rajanna Sircilla are facing fresh challenges as rising yarn prices linked to West Asia tensions increase production costs. Industry representatives say crude oil disruptions and pending government payments are further straining the already struggling weaving community.

Rajanna Sircilla: Like other sectors, the weaving industry has also been affected following the ongoing war between Iran, US and Israel. Shortfall of crude oil has become another burden for weavers, who are already facing troubles due to lack of orders and cancellation of government orders.

Import of crude oil has come down drastically following the unrest in West Asia. As a result, the price of yarn and other raw materials have gone up, imposing a burden on the weaving community.
Crude oil plays a vital role in the manufacture of polyester and cotton yarn. So, the price of yarn has gone up due to the shortfall of it. There is a Rs 30 to Rs 35 hike in the price of yarn.

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Earlier, weavers used to get a kilogram of polyester yarn at Rs 110. Now, it rose to Rs 140. Similar is the situation of cotton yarn which scaled to Rs 180 from Rs 150. A majority of the weavers in Sircilla would prefer to weave polyester and cotton cloths since there is high demand for above said cloths in the local market.
While polyester cloth is being used for the purpose of dress materials, lining and decoration, cotton cloth for petticoats, lehengas and other innerwares. An average, about 20 lakh meter polyester and five lakh meter cotton cloth would be weaved in Sircilla every day. So, the increase in price of yarn has become a burden for the local weavers.

On the other hand, the cost of cloth processing has also gone up to Rs 4 from Rs 3.25 per meter. Unable to cope-up with the hiked price, weavers have cut down the production. Speaking to Telangana Today, Mutually Aided Cooperative Society (MACS) general secretary Polu Shankar opined that war has become another burden for weavers, who were already in trouble due to lack of order and pending bills.
As there was huge demand for polyester and cotton cloth in the local market, a majority of the weavers would prefer to weave that cloth only. However, the hike in price of yarn has dampened their hopes, he said.

He found fault with the state government for not paying Rs 58 crore pending bills even after two and half years. In October 2023, the state government collected Rs 58 crore worth cloth from Sircilla weavers. Despite a number of representations to officials, the amount has not been paid so far, he said and asked the government to clear the amount as early as possible.