The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday sought the Centre's intervention to release a special emergency credit line guarantee scheme to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in the garment business, as the sector was undergoing 'severe crisis'.
MSMEs in Tiruppur constitute 95 per cent of the exporting clusters and orders for the summer season declined by around 40 per cent compared to last year, Chief Minister M K Stalin said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The exporting units are staring at a severe financial crisis in the ensuing months due to low demand, he said.
The garment export sector is undergoing a major crisis, including the economic impact caused by COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine conflict and the economic slowdown in the West, Stalin said.
Voicing concern that lakhs of jobs comprising women employees were in 'danger', he said the month-on-month growth rate in readymade garment exports was showing a 'sharp decline'.
"I request you to announce a special Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for the MSMEs in the garment sector immediately. Twenty per cent additional collateral free credit may be provided under the new scheme," Stalin said.
Tiruppur district is one of the largest knitwear exporting clusters that cater to the United States, the United Kingdom and to the European markets, he said.
