India
Apparel
exporters body Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has requested Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to declare apparel exports as essential
services and exempt the exporting units from Covid-induced lockdowns. The main
reason is the perishable nature of apparels.
A Sakthivel,
Chairman, APEC, wrote to PM Modi, saying that most of the apparel exports are
seasonal and related to fashion, so their salvage value becomes zero if the
production and shipment are delayed.
He also said
that if the apparel exporters lose customers lose customers now, they will
never be able to acquire them in future and failure to execute orders would
result in long-term loss for buyers.
According to A
Sakthivel, Indian apparel exporters have started getting orders from the US and
Europe, but with imposition of lockdown restrictions, they may risk losing the
orders to competitors like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Pakistan as they
are desperate to acquire orders from these regions.
AEPC also
stated that, recently the exporting units had recovered after being badly hit
in the first wave with bankruptcies and lack of labour due to their migration
to native places.
Source: Financial Express
Also read: