India bought dyed knit fabrics worth US $276 million (Rs. 2,270 crore) mostly from China between April and August of 2023. Since Tamil Nadu is the largest hub for the range of knitted fabrics, the state’s textile sector is concerned about the ongoing increase in imports of dyed knitted fabrics.
According to Prabhu Dhamodharan, Convenor of the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) located in Coimbatore, the introduction of colored knit fabrics has a direct effect on several sub-sectors within the textile manufacturing business in Tamil Nadu, including knitting, spinning, and processing.
In Tamil Nadu, the clusters of Coimbatore, Tirupur, Dindigul, Erode, and Salem have enormous adequate production capacities. In these centers, a variety of stakeholders, including mills, process houses, and job workers in knitting, dying, and printing, conduct business.
According to an initial analysis, most imports are made possible by traders who then supply the fabric to local clothing producers in important cities like Tirupur and Coimbatore.
Prabhu claims that in the local clothing market, the retail selling price of these dyed fabrics varies between Rs. 320 and Rs. 350 per kilogram. The fabrics’ landing cost is worrying because of the 20% import duty. It seems impossible to manufacture at those prices anywhere in the globe.
“We must closely examine the materials utilized and make sure imports are valued appropriately, preventing potential malpractices like under-invoicing or mislabelling with different materials and HS codes,” he stated.
