Surat textile exports down 11%

The textile exports from Surat have declined by 11 per cent, in comparison to the previous year.Shanti Bachkaniwala, regional chairman, Synthetic & Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), said fall was mainly due to changes in the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) rates by the Central government, and also the non-settlement of rebate claims by the central excise & customs department.

"Textile exports from Surat in financial year 2003-04 were Rs. 1044.08 crore. The exports have declined by 10.96 per cent to Rs 929.65 crore in 2004-05," he said.

"SRTEPC was aiming at textile exports of Rs. 1200 crore from Surat in the financial year, but on account of various factors, we have fallen way short of the target. We are not surprised that we have not been able to even maintain the levels of the previous fiscal year. " he said.

Bachkankiwala said the fall was not related to lifting of the quotas.

"The biggest reason for the fall in exports from Surat, is non-settlement of rebate claims by the excise department.

"The exporters have submitted claims worth Rs. 35 crore but only Rs. 3 crore worth of claims have been settled so far. This is causing great problems, and has hit the exporters the most," said Rakesh Chaudhry, an exporter.

The killer tsunami, that struck on December 26, has also played a big role in the decline in exports. Chaudhry said Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore were centres for textile exports from Surat, accounting for almost 45 per cent of the city's textile exports.

"These countries being badly hit by tsunami, the business was adversely affected." Chaudhary added.

"At the same time, the council is making efforts to promote exports to new places.

"We are concentrating on developing Africa, Latin America, and former Soviet republics as business centres for exporters of Surat. The council is also trying to increase exports from Surat to US," Bachkani said.