After a disappointing end to 2016 and a sluggish beginning to 2017, spinners in India are finally beginning to regain some optimism. They have been getting a steady stream of orders for the past five or six weeks and enquiries are on the rise.

Ring-spun and air-jet yarns are getting a lot of attention. Positions are beginning to get a little tight again. Orders for open end yarns, in general, are still a bit light, but are improving. Interest is particularly high in specific categories like organic products, fire retardant yarns and products used for filtering. As the oil industry continues to recover, these categories may continue to grow.

One area that has not revived much, however, is home furnishings. But even here spinners expect business to pick up substantially in the near future. Despite renewed optimism among spinners, there are still a few concerns. Pricing and margins top the list. They feel selling all the yarn they can make is of no use, if profits are low. Margins continue to be a lot thinner than they would like. Spinners are doing everything they can to keep prices as low as possible but in a lot of cases, they have to rely on value-added advantages to create differentiation — quality, delivery and service.