TEA Tells Centre To Restrict Bangladesh Garments Imports
A Tirupur garment exporter’s association has sought the intervention of the centre to restrict the ever increasing import of knitted fabrics and garments from Bangladesh.
Both fabrics and garments are imported from Bangladesh into India without paying any customs duty under a free trade agreement (FTA) signed between both countries.
“It’s the local manufacturers who are hit due to increasing imports from Bangladesh. A mechanism has to be implemented to restrict import of knitwear fabrics and garments,” KM Subramanian, President of Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) said.
Import of knitted fabrics from Bangladesh rose to Rs 264 crore in fiscal 2022-23 when compared with Rs 212 crore in fiscal 2021-2022, registering a growth of 24.3 percent.
Similarly, import of knitted apparels also increased massively by 57.9 percent to Rs 2,489 crore in 2022-23 as against Rs 1,576 crore in 2021-2022.
TEA also urged the center to expedite development of the Prime Minister Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park as almost 50 Tirupur factories have shown interest in setting up units.
The association also demanded a 2.0 production linked incentive scheme, a one-year moratorium for repayment of principal amount and extension of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till March 31, 2024.
