TN Textile Units Worried About Rising imports Of Dyed knitted Fabrics: ITF

Chennai, Oct 27 (KNN) Tamil Nadu’s textile industry is concerned about the rise in import of dyed knitted fabrics, despite import duty in place, Prabhu Dhamodharan, Convenor of Coimbatore-based Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) informed.

The influx of dyed knitted fabrics directly impacts various sub-sectors within Tamil Nadu’s textile manufacturing industry, including spinning, knitting, and processing, he told businessline.

During the first five months of the current fiscal year, India imported knitted fabrics valued at USD 276 million or Rs 450 crore a month on average, predominantly from China. Dyed knitted fabrics in one HS code alone accounts for 30 per cent of such imports.

“We have huge production capacity in our region and elsewhere in India. Several affiliated manufacturing companies have expressed growing concern over the detrimental effects of these imports on domestic manufacturing of yarn and fabric,” he said.

To produce the Rs 50,000 crore worth of finished material, the basic materials like yarn, fabric and the processing capacity to dye them are available adequately in and around Tirupur. However, when dyed knitted fabric directly enters the market, it affects the units in the spinning, dying processing, knitting, and compacting sectors.

“The imported dyed fabric eliminates all the processes that have been done in and around Tirupur and Coimbatore with the involvement of multiple units,” he explained.

A preliminary study has shown that a majority of the imports are facilitated through traders who, in turn, distribute the fabric to domestic garment manufacturers in key hubs such as Coimbatore and Tirupur.

“The retail selling price of these dyed fabrics fluctuates between Rs 320 and Rs 350 per kg in the domestic garment market. Given the 20 per cent import duty, the landed cost of the fabrics is concerning. Manufacturing at such price points appears untenable in any part of the world,” he said.

Dhamodharan added that it is imperative that we scrutinise the materials used and ensure the imports are valued correctly, avoiding potential malpractices like under-invoicing or mislabelling with different materials and HS codes.

(KNN Bureau)