The Central Government of India is in the process of imposing an ‘anti-subsidy duty’ on import of fabrics from China with the intention of promoting domestically manufactured man-made fibre fabrics.
According to the Chairman of Synthetic & Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), Anil Rajvanshi, the import of Chinese fabrics in India is accounted for seven per cent of the total volume of fabrics manufacturing in India, undervalued at the range of Rs. 6 to Rs. 8 per metre. 45 containers of fabric are now imported from China per day rather than the 200 containers that were imported in the past. Chinese exporters were allegedly taking the benefit of under-invoicing to destabilize Indian manufacturers.
Also Read – Surat textile units hit by mass dumping of cheap fabrics from China
The import of undervalued fabrics from China has paralysed the man-made fabric sector in Surat. Around 50 per cent of powerloom weaving machines have shut down in the last two months, rendering over two lakh workers jobless. The production of polyester fabric has reduced from 4 crore metre per day to around 1.80 crore metre per day.
The polyester fabrics manufacturers in Surat and across other centres in the country would heave a sigh of relief with subsidy duty. This would stop China from dumping their fabrics through under-invoicing.
