Govt mulls allowing import of Indian synthetic yarn to revive handlooms
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
FE Report
The government is set to allow import of Indian man-made synthetic yarn through land-ports to revive some 190,000 handlooms closed down after an invasion of cheap fabric from the neighbouring country.
Ministry of textile and jute recently took the decision in an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by its minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, an official said.
Commerce and Finance ministry, which regulates foreign trade, will soon lift the curbs on the import of hand-made Indian fancy yarn through the country's 13 land-ports, he said.
The move follows a plea by the state-owned Bangladesh Handloom Board (BHB), which works for uplift of the country's more than half a million handlooms, operating for generations in the central and northern districts.
BHB officials said Bangladeshi weavers badly need man-made synthetic yarn to diversify their product base and stave off a fierce competition from Indian sariees and other fabrics, which have flooded the country's low-end mass-market.
"At least 193,705 local handlooms have been closed down after failing to compete with Indian fabrics. Hundreds of thousands of weavers have either become unemployed or switched other jobs," a BHB official said.
Officials said the country's man-made yarn is pricey and its production capacity too limited to meet the demand of local handlooms, resulting in an uneven competition with Indian fabrics.
"The local handloom industry only uses cotton yarn. Poor weavers will be able to diversify their products and compete in the mass-market if the government allows import of synthetic yarn from India," he said.
The government will closely monitor the entry of fancy yarn through the land ports, as some rogue traders may cash in on the move by importing other yarns under the guise of synthetics, the official added.
"We don't think it will affect the business of the country's spinning mills," he said, adding the board has initially requested the government to withdraw the restriction for research purpose.
The state-owned Handloom Research Centre has already taken a move to start a pilot project with 100 handlooms on use of man-made fancy yarn following Indian technology.
The lifting of the curbs on Indian fancy yarn would also help out the small and marginal weavers in the monga-affected northern districts where most of the handlooms are facing closures, he said.
Former chairman of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) MA Awal urged the government to rethink the move.
"The government should look at the capacity of country's spinners before allowing import of Indian synthetic yarn," he told the FE.
BHB should make it clear on what variety of fancy yarn they need for producing diversified fabrics, he said. "It will be totally illogical to allow import of any kinds of yarn without making sufficient enquiry."
He said local entrepreneurs have spent billions of dollars to set up hundreds of spinning mills in the country, building a capacity of seven million spindles.
"These mills are strong enough to meet local demand of yarn," he added.
In the first phase, the government will allow import of 10 tonnes of fancy yarn for research purpose in line with the requirement of the Bangladesh handloom Research Institute, an official said.
The government is set to allow import of Indian man-made synthetic yarn through land-ports to revive some 190,000 handlooms closed down after an invasion of cheap fabric from the neighbouring country.
Ministry of textile and jute recently took the decision in an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by its minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, an official said.
Commerce and Finance ministry, which regulates foreign trade, will soon lift the curbs on the import of hand-made Indian fancy yarn through the country's 13 land-ports, he said.
The move follows a plea by the state-owned Bangladesh Handloom Board (BHB), which works for uplift of the country's more than half a million handlooms, operating for generations in the central and northern districts.
BHB officials said Bangladeshi weavers badly need man-made synthetic yarn to diversify their product base and stave off a fierce competition from Indian sariees and other fabrics, which have flooded the country's low-end mass-market.
"At least 193,705 local handlooms have been closed down after failing to compete with Indian fabrics. Hundreds of thousands of weavers have either become unemployed or switched other jobs," a BHB official said.
Officials said the country's man-made yarn is pricey and its production capacity too limited to meet the demand of local handlooms, resulting in an uneven competition with Indian fabrics.
"The local handloom industry only uses cotton yarn. Poor weavers will be able to diversify their products and compete in the mass-market if the government allows import of synthetic yarn from India," he said.
The government will closely monitor the entry of fancy yarn through the land ports, as some rogue traders may cash in on the move by importing other yarns under the guise of synthetics, the official added.
"We don't think it will affect the business of the country's spinning mills," he said, adding the board has initially requested the government to withdraw the restriction for research purpose.
The state-owned Handloom Research Centre has already taken a move to start a pilot project with 100 handlooms on use of man-made fancy yarn following Indian technology.
The lifting of the curbs on Indian fancy yarn would also help out the small and marginal weavers in the monga-affected northern districts where most of the handlooms are facing closures, he said.
Former chairman of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) MA Awal urged the government to rethink the move.
"The government should look at the capacity of country's spinners before allowing import of Indian synthetic yarn," he told the FE.
BHB should make it clear on what variety of fancy yarn they need for producing diversified fabrics, he said. "It will be totally illogical to allow import of any kinds of yarn without making sufficient enquiry."
He said local entrepreneurs have spent billions of dollars to set up hundreds of spinning mills in the country, building a capacity of seven million spindles.
"These mills are strong enough to meet local demand of yarn," he added.
In the first phase, the government will allow import of 10 tonnes of fancy yarn for research purpose in line with the requirement of the Bangladesh handloom Research Institute, an official said.