Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately remove the 11 per cent import duty on cotton, warning that the state's textile and apparel sector was facing a severe crisis due to spiralling raw material costs.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Vijay said the sharp increase in cotton and yarn prices had put immense pressure on garment manufacturers and threatened the livelihoods of lakhs of workers dependent on the sector.