Surat fabric embroidery sector looses sheen

25 Feb '13

2 min read

Falling job work rates have robbed the sheen off the booming fabric embroidery industry in Surat, which in turn has also led to a fall in machinery sales.

Embroidery job work rates have plunged by as much as 75 percent in 2013 from those prevailing in 2003. Alongside the number of machines too have doubled in the last few years, which is the main reason for the fall in rates.

“Job work rates which were prevailing at Rs 2 per 1000 stitches around 10 years ago, dipped to around Rs 1.25-1.50 and now is only around Rs 40-50 paisa per 1000 stitches”, says a 12-year veteran of the Surat embroidery industry to fibre2fashion.

Explaining the dip in the fortunes of the industry, Sanjay Italiya – Vice-President of Akhil Gujarat Embroidery Owners Association (AGEOA), says, “The number of machines has nearly doubled in the last 5-6 years, which has led to the steep fall in job work rates”.

He adds, “Alongside in the same period, prices of machines, salaries; electricity bills, etc have shot up, which has thrown the once-thriving Surat embroidery industry into a turmoil”.

Rough estimates indicate the current installed base of embroidery machines in Surat to be between 80,000 and 100,000, up from around 50,000 in 2008.

“Machines are becoming expensive with each passing year, while job work rates have dipped, due to which sales of embroidery machines are dipping”, informs Nitin Soni of Dolphin Jingwei also an agent for Chinese machine producer – Jingwei.

“Many of the embroidery machine dealers in Surat have deserted the business in the last 1-2 years and those surviving are able to do so, on the strength of the quality of the embroidery machines they supply to the sector”, Nitin informs.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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