Karnataka
The $15 billion
garment export sector faced a big blow as many states in India announced
lockdown and restrictions on industries due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Karnataka
contributes 20% of the total value of garments to the overseas markets. But the
state government announced a lockdown from May 10 to May 24 due to which the
exports got affected. Other industries that fall under the category of
essential items were allowed to function during the lockdown phase.
According to
Rahul Mehta, Chief Mentor, Clothing Manufacturer’s Association of India (CMAI),
every state follows different norms and in Karnataka, as per the new lockdown
regulations, garment producers are not allowed to work. He also said that an
appeal has been sent to the state government to let the garment producers complete
their previous export orders. He added that if the international orders are
canceled, then it gets very difficult to replace them because of the rigid
policies like bank facilities and letters of credit. Also, international brands
are very particular about the delivery dates.
Countries like
China and Bangladesh export around $130 billion and $30 billion, respectively,
each year. India is far behind them in terms of volumes but, is still a major
garment producing country. Rahul Mehta also confirmed that India’s garment
export was around $16 billion in 2019 which has now gone down to $13 billion to
$14 billion. This is the sue to coronavirus pandemic that has caused a reduction
in the garment business. Mehta also confirmed that, anther hub for garment
export, include Delhi-NCR has been allowed to operate garment industries with
some restrictions but it is complicated because the rules of three different
states apply in the region.
The garment
manufacturing industry that employs at least 12 million people had to remove
many people from their jobs. The multi-million-dollar garment manufacturing
sector has been adversely affected by the pandemic. Europe and the US are the
biggest markets for India’s garment exports. This industry is largely made up
of MSMEs and it is one of the worst hit due to the pandemic. Other hubs of the
industry include Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat.
As per the industry insiders, the government funds also could not benefit them
much.
Source – Business Today
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