The Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) has urged the ministry of textiles to enforce anti-dumping duty on the fabrics imported from China and other countries to save the domestic man-made fabric (MMF) sector in the country.

In a letter to textile minister, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, FOSTTA members said that almost 50 per cent of the MMF sector in Surat is observing a total shutdown from the past one month. The manufacturing of polyester fabric by the powerloom weavers has been stopped due to the weak demand of fabrics and the onslaught of the cheap imported fabrics from China.

“We have urged the centre to impose anti-dumping duty on the imported fabrics. Compared to the fabrics produced indigenously, the imported fabrics are almost 100 per cent cheaper. In the last one year, crores of meters of fabrics has been imported into the country, thereby paralyzing the MMF sector,” FOSTTA president, Manoj Agarwal said.

He said, the benefits under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) should be extended to the textile processors as well as the traders. At present, the TUFS benefits are only for the powerloom sector.

“We have also demanded cargo service form the Surat airport at the earliest. This will help our textile exporters to directly send the fabrics to various destinations, instead of diverting them from Mumbai and Delhi,” Agarwal added.