COIMBATORE: The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) lauded the central government's announcement regarding the exemption of the polyester staple fibre, filaments, and spun yarn imported under the Advance Authorization Scheme as it will boost the export of man-made fibres (MMF) textiles.
The period for fulfilling export obligation has been reduced from 18 months to six months for all types of MMF imported under the scheme. It will improve the export of MMF textiles which was affected in the last two years, said SK Sundararaman, chairman of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) in a statement on Friday.
Demanding the government to facilitate a smooth supply of raw materials at an internationally competitive price to achieve a sustainable growth rate both in domestic and export markets, SIMA said owing to 10 per cent to 23 per cent higher raw material price the country was not able to increase its MMF exports that account only for 20 per cent.
Countries like China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam have garnered a 70 to 80 per cent share in the MMF segment that facilitated these countries to achieve exponential growth rates, while Indian exports stagnated for almost a decade. India has been pushed to sixth position in the global trade from the second position during the last decade, Sundararaman said.
SIMA also appealed to the new government to address all the structural issues relating to MMF including the duty inversion issue by slotting the entire MMF value chain under the five per cent GST rate on par with cotton and also to ensure a smooth supply of raw materials.
Slotting the entire textile value chain under a five per cent GST rate will not affect the revenue of the government but would enable affordable clothing to the poor and also boost exports. Also, the removal of the 11 per cent import duty on cotton would enable the cotton and cotton blended textile product manufacturers to increase their share of exports, he added.