Special textiles industry demands more duty incentives

NEW DELHI: Special textiles industry, which manufactures products such as marquee tents and cricket pitch mats, has demanded further duty incentives for exports of non-woven fabrics produced from man-made fibre, besides curbing imports of sub-standard items.

"The duty drawback for export of non-woven fabrics made out of man-made fibre is 2 per cent ... It does not fully compensate the duty paid on inputs," the industry has demanded in a representation to the Ministry of Textiles.

Special or technical textiles are meant for serving technical or utility functions.

The representation further said huge quantities under the guise of second grade quality and off-cuts of non-wovens are being imported into India.

"Specific duties for import of these products should also be imposed to protect the Indian industry and safeguard it from cheap and wrong declared imports," the MD of Ginni Filaments, one of the largest non-woven producers in the country, Shishir Jaipuria, said.

The industry has also asked the ministry to promote use of non-woven medical products in the government run hospitals.

"We have received the demands from the industry and we would look into it," a senior textiles ministry official said.

As per the industry estimates, the current per capita consumption of non-wovens in India was less than 100 grams compared to around 3 to 3.5 kg in developed markets such as the US and western Europe.

The global technical textiles market is estimated at USD 50 billion and India's presence is almost negligible in the segment.