‘China dumping fibre ahead of upcoming quality control order’

New Delhi: The textile industry is concerned that Chinese exporters are dumping cheap fibre and polyester in India ahead of the implementation of a quality control order (QCO) on a range of textile input materials, Brij Mohan Sharma, joint managing director, Rajasthan Spinning & Weaving Mills said.

While bigger players have welcomed the QCO, micro, small and medium enterprises that lack a resilient supply chain are heavily dependent on imported raw material and are facing the double whammy of slowing exports and a raft of standards imposed on the industry.

“Cheap quality imports from China are being dumped into India. There is a difference of ₹5-7 per kg in case of polyester fibre. The Chinese are aggressively dumping fibre into India knowing full well that the government will come out with standards from 1 October. People in the commodity segment who are not having a dedicated supply chain will feel the pinch of it. But when you talk about the value addition quality control order is necessary. We have taken it up with the ministry of textile," Sharma said in an interview.

Sharma said policy makers must focus on the cotton value chain that is the core strength of Indian textile industry.

India, one of the world’s largest cotton producers, is currently facing the risk of becoming a net importer after both exports and production registered a record decline in the current financial year amid weak demand for textile products in the West due to the long-drawn Ukraine war.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects India’s cotton exports to slip to its lowest in 19 years during the current crop season between October 2022 and September 2023 as it expects farmers to shift to other profitable crops such as oilseeds and pulses.

Indian cotton yarn exports hit a decadal low of 664,000 tonnes in FY23.

“You [government] are only talking about garments and technical textiles. Our core competency is cotton. I agree that to focus on exports systematically is important but cotton cannot be set aside which is India’s core strength. Too much volatility cotton prices negatively impact the industry. Price between ₹55,000 -65,000 per candy is normal but ₹1 lakh is not. It has happened in the case of cotton, viscose and fibre," Sharma added.

Queries sent to the textile ministry remained unanswered.