The Quality Control Order (QCO) for polyester yarn and its upstream value chain may come into effect from April 2023, if there is no further extension from the Indian Government. Immediate impact, according to sources, might be a disruption in supply which will support prices and improve the quality of Indian products in the long term.
A meeting was held last week in New Delhi with the newly constituted Textile Advisory Group for manmade fibre (MMF). The government will expedite enforcement of QCOs on MMF products, said Textile Minister Piyush Goyal in the meeting and a date of April 3, 2023 was fixed by the government for the QCO implementation for the polyester value chain.
The QCO may restrict the import of cheaper raw materials, according to the government. Indian manufacturers have been left with a large and unutilised production capacity due to the surge in imports of polyester yarn, fibre, and upstream raw materials like purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG).
Trade sources in India, however, said that due to the quality of imported goods being similar to domestic supplies, there was little possibility of limiting imports. A market expert was quoted as saying “International suppliers may face a temporary hurdle. Later, they will be able to charge even more prices on the basis of Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) certification, which will be mandatory after April 3.”
Due to the upcoming Holi festival and march closing, the Indian market did not notice this policy change, he added but polyester yarn and fibre will get support from supply disruption. He also added that the prescribed standards are not very stringent and that every manufacturer will have to secure a BIS certification.
