The National Textile and Apparel Council (NCTC) of India recently called on Prime Minister Modi to abolish anti-dumping duties on viscose staple fiber (VSF) and solve the supply and price issues of VSF yarn to prevent the loss of work related to the entire VSF textile value chain.

The leaders of the NCTC’s VSF value chain industry textile associations, including the Garment Export Promotion Council, the Indian Textile Industry Federation, the Indian Garment Manufacturers Association, the Indian Spinning Association, and the Woven Development Export Promotion Association have submitted a joint representative to the Prime Minister Statement, calling on the government to seriously consider the issue of domestic VSF price increases in India

The statement requires the Indian government to abolish the anti-dumping duties imposed on imported VSF to enhance India’s global competitiveness and to achieve the goal of the textile and apparel industry in India to reach 350 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

NCTC said that due to the growing demand for VSF and the increased market opportunities for blended fabrics and apparel, not only India’s demand for VSF has increased, but global demand has also increased sharply.

NCTC stated that due to the high anti-dumping duty imposed on VSF, the price of imported yarn is relatively cheaper. Therefore, weaving and knitting industries continue to import large quantities of VSF spun yarn. The import volume of VSF spun yarn has increased from 2 million kg in 2016/17 to 56 million kg in 2019/20.

NCTC also emphasized that in terms of market conditions after the new crown epidemic, the price of VSF has risen from US$1.15 per kilogram to US$1.50 per kilogram in the past few months. NCTC said that due to anti-dumping duties (up to US$0.512 per kilogram) domestic VSF is expensive and the demand for domestic staple fiber yarns is reduced, which affects the supply and price of the entire VSF value chain, especially the knitting and power loom industries.

All major VSF power loom industrial settlements located in states such as TamilNadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, etc. have resisted the sharp rise in VSF prices.

In view of the above situation, NCTC has called on the Prime Minister to abolish the anti-dumping duties imposed on VSF in order to solve the imminent problems, to seize opportunities in emerging markets, and to protect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of workers employed in the VSF textile value chain. This is another appeal to the Prime Minister in this regard.