Surat textile industry shelves yarn bank project

With the frequent price and global demand fluctuations in the textile industry, the Surat-based players have shelved the plan for setting up a yarn bank. The Surat based industry was supposed to set up a yarn bank with the help of the Textile Ministry and had made announcement in July this year.

According to industry players, the volatile international yarn market has rendered the project unviable.

Early in July this year, the Surat-based synthetic textile industry had sought support of the Ministry of Textiles for setting up of a yarn bank.

The bank was supposed to help small and medium weavers gain access to yarn at concessional rates as well as help local manufacturers innovate in yarn production of global quality.

"The yarn market has now become very volatile with price fluctuations happening every now and then. Also, there are such huge varieties of yarn in terms of fibre, thickness and denier, among others that setting up a yarn bank has become a very costly affair for us and unviable. This is why we have shelved the project completely," said Kamlesh Yagnik, president of South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).

Industry players also cite lack of interest among international players in the project also being the reason. The Surat-based synthetic textile industry alone processes fabric of around 30 million metres per day.

"The yarn bank was supposed to serve twin purpose. Firstly, we could get yarn samples from around the world and store it. There are several kinds of yarns of various deniers that are produced across the world which we are yet to know of. Hence, the domestic industry could have had access to yarn samples of global standards and do further research and come out with innovative products. Secondly, small time weavers could have also got access to yarn at concessional rates. However, while the project is said to have become unviable, it also seems lack of interest on part of global yarn suppliers," said Jitu Vakharia, president of South Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA).

On its part, the Ministry of Textiles had offered help in setting up the yarn bank. During his visit in July to the Surat textile industry, KS Rao, Union Minister of Textiles, alongwith Sunaina Tomar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, and Textile Commissioner had informed the local manufacturers that he understood the need for setting up a yarn bank.

"The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) of Department of MSME is already doing something similar with the steel industry. Due to lot of price fluctuation, small and medium weavers were not able to get yarn at reasonable prices. With the yarn bank which could have been set up with the help of NSIC and Ministry of Textiles, the government agency could have bought yarn from large manufacturers and then sold it at concessional rates to small weavers through the bank," said Yagnik.

Meanwhile, apart from the yarn bank, the industry had also demanded other kinds of assistance during Rao's visit. "Several issues concerning the synthetic textile industry including continuation of Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), high interest rate, uniform tax regime, anti dumping duty, more parks in Surat, council for textile parks, more fund for R&D, focused product scheme, more duty draw back, fabric exhibition, and common facility centres in powerloom clusters, problem of labour shortage were raised by the industry," the Textile Commissioner had then stated.