Textiles industry urge PM Modi to remove anti-dumping duty on Viscose Staple Fibre
New Delhi: The Ministry of Textiles has set a target of $350 billion market size for the growth of the Indian Textiles and Clothing (T&C) Industry by 2025. However, the same cannot be achieved until and unless we show progress in exports of textile products, especially in the Man Made Fibre (MMF) Sector.
The industry has been facing stagnation since many years mainly due to the lack of availability of the basic raw materials of man-made fibre / filament yarn at internationally competitive prices.
Taking a serious view of the high price of VSF in India, the captains of the various segments of VSF value chain, viz Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), Bhiwandi Powerloom Weavers Federation Ltd. (BPWF), Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), Federation of Gujarat Weavers' Welfare Association (FGWWA), Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC), Indian Spinners Association (ISA), Ichalkaranji Shuttleless Looms Owners Association (ISLOA), Powerloom Development Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) and Tamil Nadu Federation of Powerloom Associations (TNFPA) have submitted a joint representation to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the removal of Anti-Dumping Duty on Import of Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF) to achieve global competitiveness.
They have also pleaded to the Union Ministers of Finance, Commerce and Textiles and their respective Secretaries in this regard.
The textile industry players have stated that cotton fibre which is the basic raw material for the cotton textile industry and also the growth engine of the Indian T&C industry is available to the industry at an internationally competitive prices. This has helped the entire cotton value chain to remain globally competitive as it doesn't attract any import duty or anti-dumping duty.
The VSF Value Chain stakeholders pointed out that India despite being the second largest producer of MMF in the world, its share in total T&C exports accounts for only 20%. While, China's share of MMF products stands at 80% which is far bigger than India in comparison.
The Indian Textile industry is not in a position to fully capture the market opportunities when compared to Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc., mainly due to the expensive VSF price which is the second most important basic raw material for the MMF textile value chain.
During the last four years, the imports of VSF spun yarn have increased by 27 times that has greatly affected the highly capital and labour intensive spinning sector including the latest investments in airvortex technology.
The Industry players stated that the Government of India has immensely helped the MMF Sector by removing anti-dumping duty on PTA, which is a major raw material for polyester staple fibre and by rejecting the proposal of ADD on PSF and MEG and thereby creating a level playing field in the polyester segment.
