The textiles ministry has asked the textiles commissioner to gather details on the state of affairs of Surat’s man-made fabric (MMF) sector from the textile associations and Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).
This followed MMF producers complaints that under-invoiced Chinese fabrics have led to the closure of over three lakh powerlooms in the last three months.
Industry sources said the textile commissioner’s office has sought data on the number of powerloom units closed in the last few months, decrease in the production of MMF, workers rendered jobless, production of yarn and finished fabrics.
Surat’s MMF sector contributes around 40 per cent of nation’s MMF demand. The daily production of MMF in the city is pegged at four crore metres.
According a report, around 45 per cent of the weaving units-around three lakh powerloom machines-have shut shops in the last three months. This has been due to dumping of under-valued Chinese fabrics at the cost less than Rs 8 per metre. Around eight crore metres of Chinese fabrics have been dumped in various parts of the country in the last one year.
“There would be around 1.5 lakh workers who are currently jobless. Most of them have moved out of the city to their hometowns in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.”
South Gujarat Textile Processors’ Association (SGTPA) president Jitu Vakharia said, “Most of the textile dyeing and printing mills are without job-work. This is due to Chinese fabrics and depleting demand of polyester fabrics in the country.”
