The Hindu Business Line : Hank yarn output matches obligation target

The overall production of hank yarn by the spinning mills during the first two quarters of the current calendar year has almost come close to the levels of the physical obligation set by the Government for the respective periods.

The hank yarn packing details for the January-March 2006 and April-June 2006 quarters compiled by the Ministry of Textiles, which monitors the compulsory hank yarn obligation fulfilment scheme, has revealed that spinning mills have collectively contributed to a total production of 110 million kg and 115.90 million kg respectively against their production fulfilment obligation of 113 million kg and 115.98 million kg for these two quarters. The production works out to 97.66 per cent and 99.93 per cent of their hank yarn packing obligation set for these periods.

Compulsory scheme

Textile mills are brought under compulsory hank yarn production scheme by the Government with a view to ensuring that the handloom sector, which consumes yarn in hank form, gets the required quantity of raw material without any constraint. Under this statutory scheme, mills involved in producing cotton yarn are mandatorily to produce 40 per cent of their yarn production in hank form and 80 per cent of these hank yarn should be in the 40s and below counts.

The number of textile mills involved in the hank yarn production during Jan-March 2006 quarter was 1,899, which filed the relevant returns on hank yarn production. While 892 mills were declared closed during this period, 358 mills did not submittheir returns. In respect of the April-June 2006 quarter, of the total 3,149 textile mills, 2,107 units filed their hank yarn returns fulfilling obligations while 142 did not file their returns. The number of mills that remained closed during this period was 900.

The data on hank yarn packing obligation for the past four years and their fulfilment have shown that except during 2002-03 financial year when the production fulfilment touched 95.61 per cent of the obligation, the total fulfilment of hank yarn production exceeded 100 per cent for the other three years.

Price monitoring panel

The hank yarn price monitoring committee comprising the officials from the Ministry, National Handloom Development Corporation/State Handloom Departments and the textile industry, which reviews the country's hank yarn production pattern, price behaviour on quarterly basis held its 55th review meeting in the city early this week. The meeting, held under the chairmanship of Mr Das, Additional Textile Commissioner, reportedly found there was no shortage in the availability of the hank yarn in the country.

The comparative price analysis of hank yarns and cone yarns (for counts between 10s and 100s) showed that the average price variation between these two types of yarn used by the weavers remained narrow during this period.

The price of 40s count hank yarn, for example, which ruled at Rs 112 per kg in September 2005, rose to Rs 133.40 for the same month in 2006.

Whereas the cone yarn price for the similar count, which stood at Rs 111 per kg went up to Rs 131 during the corresponding periods.

According to official sources, the National Handloom Development Corporation had in the price review meeting urged for removing constraints in the availability of cotton yarn, especially in the finer count hank yarn, needed by the handloom weavers in the Eastern and North Eastern States and it wanted the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) here to support in this effort by holding a buyer-seller meet in North-eastern region.