Kozhikode: The Malabar Spinning and Weaving Mills based in Kerala's Kozhikode district has got orders to export yarn to foreign countries, giving it a much-needed boost amid poor market conditions and weak financials of the public company.
The high-quality carded yarn manufactured at this mill, which was taken over by the Kerala State Textile Corporation in 1978, has received orders from Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
The first load of 5,000kg yarn was taken to Chennai from the mill located at Thiruvannur on Tuesday.
The company has to export 10,000 kg of carded yarn to these two countries every alternative week. The company got the order via the Loyal Traders in Chennai.
Sluggish domestic market
The export orders came the Kozhikode mill's way at a time when the domestic market is going through a volatile stage. The domestic demand for yarn dropped after textile companies in Maharashtra stopped functioning due to the recent floods. As many as 135 mills in Tamil Nadu had to be shut down as they suffered huge losses.
The management of the Kozhikode company then started finding an international market for the yarn. The efforts by the Chennai firm had earlier helped the mill to send 2,500 kg of yarn to Bangladesh and Thailand.
The cotton mill will get Rs 26. 5 lakh for every 10,000 kg of yarn exported. It would be able to send 40,000 kg of carded yarn to Sri Lanka and Myanmar in a month, through which the company would be able to make Rs 1.6 crore. The management hopes that the mill would be able to overcome its crisis if it was able to maintain the export order for the long term.
High-tech machines were imported to the mill from Italy and Japan as part of modernisation. Initially, steam-powered machinery was used.
If machines are imported from foreign countries, then products have to be imported in eight years. If the mills are able to accomplish this, they would get a reduction in the Centre’s excise duty. The Kozhikode mill, which was started in 1884, too will enjoy this benefit with exports.
Malabar Spinning and Weaving Mills was shut from 2003 t0 2006 due to labour strike. After reopening, renovation works were carried out from 2006 to 2011. Now, 25,344 looms function at the mill with 250 permanent workers and 30 daily wagers working across three shifts.
