Gujarat is a major manufacturer of reactive dyes in the country and its output totals to 50,000 tons per annum. However, the reactive dye units across the state have seen a dip in their fortunes, as production of fabrics has dropped down, due to the incessant rise in cotton prices in the last few months.
The segment which is dominated by small and medium (SMEs) units have been the worst hit as demand has plummeted by around 15-20 percent in the last few months. The sector which primarily grew on back of demand from the domestic Indian market is now a major exporter to various countries across the world.
Raw cotton prices have nearly doubled from those prevailing a year ago, which has led to a fall in fabric production and in turn, created a slowdown in demand for reactive dyes from the dyeing houses in the country, resulting in underutilization of production capacity in the units manufacturing, reactive dyes.
According to Mr Shanker Patel, President - Gujarat Dyestuffs Manufacturers' Association (GDMA) who spoke to fibre2fashion, “The reactive dyes industries which cater to the demands of the textile industry, have seen it dropping by as much as 15-20 percent, mainly due to the steep hike in prices of raw cotton, which resulted in drop in output across the textile value-chain”.