The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) appreciates the Ministry of Textiles for implementing pivotal policy measures like the imposition of a Minimum Import Price (MIP) of USD 3.5/kg on the five HS lines of MMF Knitted Fabrics, effective until September 15, 2024 and enabling provisions for exemptions for inputs imported by Advance Authorization holders, EoU and SEZ units from the mandatory Quality Control Orders (QCOs) issued by the Ministry of Textiles.
These initiatives are expected to provide immediate relief to the Indian MMF industry and catalyze growth within the sector, positioning it for sustained development. These policy measures clubbed with many other growth drivers are likely to propel the Indian textile industry forward towards a visionary target of US$ 350 bn industry by 2030. It is also expected to bring about USD 100 billion in investment and create over 15 million new jobs.
However, to cater to such production targets, there will be a dire need to ensure sufficient availability of all types of raw materials including Cotton and MMF at internationally competitive prices.
To improve the cost competitiveness of the cotton value chain, below given policy recommendations are requested:
* Removal of import duty from all varieties of cotton including cotton waste
* Cotton productivity enhancement with a focus on specialized seed varieties like HTBt cotton seeds.
Towards MMF textile’s growth, the Government may consider the following policy measures to enhance its growth:
* Exempting fibers and yarns not available domestically from the scope of Quality Control Orders (QCOs) to ensure access to essential raw materials without regulatory issues.
* Enable provisions for exempting inputs imported by Advance Authorization holders, EoU and SEZ units from the mandatory QCOs issued by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (for polyester fibre/filament/yarn) inline to the exemption provided for QCOs issued by the Ministry of Textiles.
* Establishing a committee to ensure the availability of all types of raw materials (fibre/yarns) with periodic reviews of the emerging requirements of specialized fibre/yarn categories which may be exempted from the scope of QCOs due to gap in supply / demand /price.
* Ensuring smooth supply of all raw materials at internationally competitive prices.
* Lower standard input and output norms (SION) for cotton blended with MMF and VSF
* Address GST duty inversion in the MMF value chain to avoid capital blockage.
* Announce separate Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) codes for recycled MMF-based products to promote sustainable products.
* Expand viscose manufacturing hub to states like Tamil Nadu and in other textile manufacturing clusters to reduce the logistic cost of procuring such raw materials.
* Enable provisions for the import of inputs that are subjected to mandatory QCOs by AA, SEZ, and EoU units for intermediate supply also. At present, such exemptions are allowed for physical exports only.
“Indian textile industry has the required capacities and skill to grow. Raw material availability at internationally competing prices can address the present stagnation in the industry and help in the growth of this industry, especially the sunrise sectors like technical textiles”, said Mr Rakesh Mehra, Chairman CITI.
