Sri Lanka Economic Crisis: Apparel Orders To Colombo Redirected Towards India

Countries importing their textile products from Sri Lanka are exploring India as a potential source of the same amidst the economic crisis that has plagued Colombo.

“Some countries who were earlier importing from Sri Lanka, have started contacting India, as Sri Lanka is under its worst economic crises,” UP Singh, senior bureaucrat from the Union Ministry of Textiles, told ANI.

Singh added, “Some orders have already been given to companies in the Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu. Tirupur is the hub of the textile industry in Tamil Nadu.”

The official explained that India produces over 340 lakh bells of cotton presently but the number is going to shoot up owing to the order diversion from Sri Lanka.

He explained that the textile sector’s export stood at $43 billion last year and they are aiming to take it up to $100 billion this year.

The likes of Bangladesh and Vietnam do not have any duties for importing cotton from South Africa, Brazil and Australia. Contrastingly, Indian importers had to pay 11 per cent of duty, which led to higher input costs and made the prices of their products uncompetitive eventually.

“Our exporters have to pay 9.5 per cent export duty which these countries do not have to pay. Now adding these 11 per cent import duty and 9.5 per cent export duty on cotton, it becomes very difficult for our textile exporters to compete with such countries. Since now we do not have to pay import duty on cotton, this will certainly make our exporters more competitive,” the bureaucrat elaborated on the issue.