Erode garment exporters lose orders worth Rs. 500 crore

Erode garment exporters lose orders worth Rs. 500 crore
Hindu, India
R. Sundaram

They have incurred a loss of more than Rs. 300 crore in the last six months
‘We do not accept new orders as the dollar value is decreasing every day’

Stocks have accumulated in factories leading to a financial crunch

ERODE: The textile garment export sector is in the doldrums owing to the fall of the dollar vis-À-vis the Indian currency. Exporters in Erode have lost orders worth more than Rs. 500 crore from many countries, especially the U.K., Singapore and Sri Lanka.

They have incurred a loss of more than Rs. 300 crore in the last six months.

Erode Textile Garment Exporters Association secretary S. Sivanandhan told The Hindu: “We do not accept new orders as the dollar value is decreasing every day. The present rate is Rs. 39.30 for one U.S. dollar. It may plummet to Rs. 37 and even below.”

“There is a heavy demand for Indian goods, especially readymade goods from Erode. But we cannot accept the orders owing to financial problems,” Mr. Sivanandhan said.

He said the readymade garment industry was already facing labour shortage and since fresh orders were not booked, stocks had accumulated in factories leading to a financial crunch.

Mr. Sivanandhan said: “The Union Government should fix Rs. 41 per dollar in terms of the Indian currency and the 10 per cent duty drawback should continue. In case of a fall in the rate below Rs. 41, the government should increase the duty drawback to 12 or 15 per cent and if the rupee rate increases above Rs. 41 per dollar, the duty drawback rate may be reduced. If this is done, no exporter will be affected.”

He thanked the Union Government for granting Rs. 1,400 crore to the exporters to compensate for the dollar plunge.