Members of Erode Vhisaithari Urimayalargal Sangam (Erode Power Loom Owners Association) has urged the Centre not to impose any import duty on man-made fibre (MMF) viscose yarn as it will affect the sector. In a letter to Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani, the association said that the power loom industry in the region was producing cotton and rayon fabrics and they were sold to markets in New Delhi, Faridabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmadabad and Surat for making garments for women.
These manufacturing units were spread across Erode, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem and Namakkal districts providing employment to four lakh people. The letter said that due to frequent increase in the price of yarn in the domestic market, power loom units started importing rayon and modal yarn from China, Vietnam and Indonesia which was cheaper by `15 to `20 per kg when compared to the price in the country.
Hence, more units started importing the yarn forcing the spinning mills in the domestic market to reduce price. The letter said that they learnt from reliable sources that the Ministry was planning to increase the import duty for the MMF yarns or go for complete ban. “Any such move will affect the power loom industry completely,” the letter added.
