Yarn manufacturers in Tamil Nadu are looking to procure cotton from overseas markets after finding the supply from Gujarat widely adulterated with comber noil, a waste product in the textile supply chain.

For the textile hubs of Coimbatore and Tirupur, Gujarat had been their source of cotton for decades. But now, more than 40 mills in these two hubs are turning to West African nations to replace the supply from Gujarat.

The situation is apparently serious enough for the buyers. K Selvaraju, secretary general of the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) said Tamil Nadu buyers have slashed the purchase of Gujarat cotton to just 40 per cent of the usual level because of the adulteration.

Gujarat sells nearly 120 lakh bales a year, two-thirds of this to Tamil Nadu. Hosiery yarn makers spin the sought-after Sankar-6 variety from Gujarat to make garments sold across the world. Gujarat cotton commands a premium mainly because it requires fewer chemicals for dyeing.

But with adulterated cotton hampering Tamil Nadu mills’ productions, SIMA has written to the Gujarat government urging action against ginners.

According to Prabhu Damodharan, secretary of Indian Texpreneurs Federation, the alleged adulteration has forced spinners to look beyond India. Gujarat Sankar-6, priced at Rs 34,000-34,200 a candy is expected to get costlier on demand from mills. Textile entrepreneurs plan to sidestep the price hike by procuring cotton from eight West African countries including Mali, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.