Surat textile units forced to extend Diwali vacations due to sluggish demand

Surat, Oct 31 (KNN) The Surat textile industries this year have decided to shut activities for a longer period of time after Diwali as the units are struggling to get fresh orders amid sluggish demand.

Conventionally, Surat textile units keep their activities shut for three to five days after Diwali every year. The textile units have also asked their daily wage workers to take unpaid extended Diwali vacation till mid-November.

“This Diwali season was an utter failure for the textile industry in Surat. Compared to the previous season, aggregate business was down by almost 40 per cent. Though the marriage season will start from the second week of November, very few orders are coming. Over 300 textile markets have been closed since October 25 and will open from the second week of November only,” said Dev Kishan Mangani, advisor, textile committee, South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).

Vijay Mangukiya, president of Surat Weavers Association, said that the situation of weaving units is even direr as out of nearly 1 million power looms, hardly 100,000 have started operations and the rest will remain closed.

“This is the first time in the history of Surat’s textile industry that weaving units will remain closed for a fortnight due to extremely low demand,” he said.

Mangukiya further highlighted that “Ahead of Diwali festivities, we have told workers to go on longer Diwali vacation as there is no work. With almost a 90 per cent cut in supply of grey fabrics, hopefully traders will be able to clear some older inventory after the Diwali period.”

Apart from sluggish markets, embroidery units are facing issues of payments and increasing cost of raw material, according to a report in FE.

Naresh Sharma, president of Ahmedabad Textile Processors Association, said that instead of a three-day holiday, processors in Ahmedabad, too, have announced a 15-day Diwali vacation as there is no new work. “Spinners and weavers are waiting for the arrival of fresh cotton.”

Surat, the India’s biggest man-made fabrics (MMF) manufacturing hub has an estimated turnover of Rs 80,000-crore annually. It alone produces nearly 40 million metres of fabric per day and processes more than 30 million metres of fabric on a daily basis. The highly labour-intensive weaving, processing and embroidery units provide jobs to more than 1.5 million people.  (KNN Bureau)