Coimbatore : Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) today sought urgent intervention of the Centre to end the lorry strike as crores worth of textile goods were lying in factories over the last seven days.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a copy of which was released here today, TEA president Raja M Shanmugham said the ongoing indefinite lorry strike had created a major impact on Tirupur knitwear exporting units
as they could not transport the finished garments for shipment.

The cascading effect would be severe and the delay in settling the issue would derail exports and affect the entire textile industry, he said..

For the season-conscious and design-driven export market, on-time supply was crucial and any delay would not be encouraged by foreign buyers at a time “when we are competing with advantageous countries like Bangladesh,

Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Vietnam and China and are struggling to sustain in the business”, he said.

South India Small Spinners Association (SISPA) president S K Ranagrajan said in a statement that nearly 25,000 tonnes of yarn valued at Rs 550 crore was lying in godowns over the last 10 days.

Besides, spinners were not getting the necessary raw materials like cotton and other fibres, due to non-arrival of lorries from other States, he said.