Duty-free imports from competitors perturb local textile sector

19 Mar '08

1 min read

The apparel industry of India is disappointed over the decision of Government to allow duty free import of 1.40 crore pieces of garments from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Experts believe that the main objective behind taking this decision was to create a trade balance and besides, this move will also allow domestic industries to avail cheaper raw materials for textile production.

However, officials from Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) are of the opinion that this will put the domestic textile sector at a disadvantageous position in comparison to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who are considered to be strong competitors in the international market.

Both the neighbouring countries have a manufacturing base, with ready raw material enabling them to provide garments at a relatively low price. However, this is likely to make Indian textile goods, less competitive in the global market.

While exports from Bangladesh jumped from $51.7 million in 2006-07 to $81.7 million in 2007-08, at the same time, shipments from Sri Lanka have also shown a rise, touching $9.53 million in 2006-07 and $12.75 million in 2007-08 till December.

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