Removal of anti-dumping duty on VSF to help MMF sector take off: AEPC

New Delhi, Aug 3 (KNN) Welcoming the government’s decision to remove the anti-dumping duty (ADD) on Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF), Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel said that it will prove to be a key milestone in India’s apparel history.

“I am extremely thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Commerce and Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal for accepting our request and removing the anti-dumping duty on VSF. The decision will help the manmade fibre (MMF) sector finally take off. Amazing future awaits the Indian apparel sector,” Dr Sakthivel said.

In January 2021, AEPC along with other organisations in the VSF value chain had appealed to the Prime Minister for the removal of ADD on VSF to address the VSF spun yarn availability and price issues in order to prevent job losses and stoppage of production across the VSF textile value chain.

“The decision will help the MMF segment, which both industry and government have identified as the sunrise sector for increasing the share of India in global apparel trade. With quality fabric at the right price in place, it will finally give wings to the proposed Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the MMF segment.

“The removal of protectionist tariffs on VSF will make the domestic VSF prices aligned with the global VSF prices making the entire Indian VSF textile value chain globally competitive. It will boost production and exports of these products,” Dr Sakthivel said.

Owing to the growing demand for VSF and its blended textiles across the globe, and the high price of domestic spun yarn, the availability and price were affecting the entire VSF value chain in the country, especially the knitted and powerloom sectors. Major VSF powerloom clusters are in the states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat.