Delay in textile policy invites traders’ wrath

Strap: Shawl Club of India submits suggestions to govt

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 19

Though the Union Government announced to frame a textile policy way back in 2016, its slow pace has started bothering local textile manufacturers and traders. The holy city was once compared to Manchester for its large scale production of textile.

Piara Lal Seth, General Secretary of the Shawl Club of India, said the delay was costing small textile units heavily, which were already battered by demonetisation, GST and the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said it was their long outstanding demand to the Central Government to frame a new textile policy. In a communique to the Union Government here on Monday, the Shawl Club of India demanded that the two components of the textile sector — organised and unorganised sector —be considered separately as the problems were very much different in each sector.

The unorganised sector mostly comes under the MSME category and the New National Textile Policy should be framed to meet its requirements and redressal.

The communique stated that the basic raw material for textile sector are polyester and woolen worsted yarn. Woolen yarn, which is also called greasy wool, is imported from Australia and other countries and polyester fiber yarn is monopolised by the Reliance.

It said if both the raw materials are made available at the international price and particularly at the rate prevalent in China Market, the export of textile sector can increase manifolds.

Free import of readymade textile, under SAARC from Bangladesh in particular, have crippled our domestic industry. So needed amendments are required, it stated.

Export promotion bodies should organise international seminars, conferences during winter in the holy city, which boasts of international airport and the best of road and rail connectivity.

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