In a disappointment for the city considered a hub of textile and garments, Punjab has ranked seventh in volume of net exports in the sector in 2019-20. In the previous two years, too, the performance had been dismal as compared with the other states. As per the data released by the Ministry of Textiles, the total amount of exports from Punjab for 2019-20 was of $1,509 mn. Other States that have ranked ahead of Punjab include Delhi ($2,332), Gujarat ($4,901), Haryana ($3,035), Karnataka ($2,386), Maharashtra ($ 3,987), Tamil Nadu ($6,766) and Uttar Pradesh ($2,853).
Industrialists said it was because of the Centre and the State Government turning a blind eye to the problems of the garment and textile industry and if these warning signs were ignored, Punjab may slip even further. However, some businessmen differed and said the data contained statistics for textile products like sarees, carpet, denim, home furnishing and other handlooms, which were not the specialisation of Punjab.
Expressing resentment over the statistics, Harish Dua, Executive Council Member of Apparel Export Promotion Council, said, “Ludhiana is the biggest hub of garment manufacturing in North India. There was a time when we were number one garment manufacturers in the country, but due to the apathy of the successive Central and State Governments, we slid and other states pipped us. One of the biggest hurdles for Ludhiana’s garment exporters is huge expenditure incurred on the outgoing freight till the ports as compared with the other states. It has been years since we have been demanding freight subsidy for garment exporters of Punjab to put us on a par with those from other states.”
