Powerloom weavers hit by fall in export orders

Coimbatore: The low realisation from exports due to depreciating dollar against rupee has scared the powerloom weavers from accepting new orders and this has affected the exports of powerloom products.

According to Mr M.S. Mathivanan, Chairman of the Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL), 80 per cent of powerlooms are run on job-work by master weavers who in turn depend on orders placed by the exporters.

With export trade now hit, the flow of orders too has come down drastically. This crisis has severely hit the powerloom industry in Tamil Nadu, which weaves mostly cotton fabrics meant for export market, he added.

Export incentives


Among the measures the council has recommended to the Union Government to support the weavers at this hour of crisis are enhancement in export incentives such as duty drawback, DEPB rates and lower interest on export financing, Mr Mathivanan said.

He added that the recent move by the Centre to exempt the entire textile chain from the textile cess was a timely one as it gave some relief to the textile sector.