Exports of Tirupur in the last financial year have gone down by 5.6 per cent from the previous year.
Among the reasons are the changes in duty and tax structure such as GST. There is no customs duty levied in other countries, especially Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, on import of yarn to produce fabric and garments meant for exports, except in India.

Another serious concern is a backlog of Rs 500 crores (approx US$ 75 million) due under Rebate on State Levies from the Centre to the exporting units of Tirupur since April last year. The RoSL has been slashed from 3.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent while the excise portion of duty drawback of 5.7 per cent has also been withdrawn.

About six lakh employees work for 6,500 knitwear and apparel units in Tirupur, helping to earn Rs 50,000 crores (approx US$ 7.500 billion ) in exports a year.

The climate change too played havoc. Production of cotton remained minimal and could only meet five per cent of the requirements of Tamil Nadu spinning mills.

Increasing critical inputs cost have had a huge impact on prices of silk saris. The imports resulted in a steep rise in prices of handloom products. The price of cotton in early 2016 hovered around Rs 28,000(US $ 415 US) a candy but has now shot up to Rs 45,000 (US $ 666) .