Apparel exporters in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, expressed their inability to absorb the up to 21% wage increase announced by the state government, effective April 1. Lalit Thukral, president of the Noida Apparel Export Cluster, highlighted that rising input costs and pressure from global buyers are forcing them to renegotiate prices, with some buyers considering shifting orders to countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, or Vietnam. The wage hike raises minimum monthly pay for unskilled labor to ₹13,690, semi-skilled to ₹15,059, and skilled labor to ₹16,868. However, workers have rejected these increases, demanding a minimum salary of ₹20,000. The ongoing labor unrest risks disrupting shipments from the Noida hub, which employs between 800,000 to one million workers and exported garments worth approximately ₹50,000 crore (roughly $6 billion USD) in FY26, accounting for over one-third of India's apparel exports. The Uttar Pradesh government stated that 45 of the 66 arrested individuals in connection with the unrest were not workers, indicating external influences inciting violence and arson during protests.