Knitwear manufacturers of Tiruppur are gleeful as they believe that the ban imposed by the central government on the import of ready-made garments from Bangladesh through land ports will lead to the growth of domestic production in Tiruppur.

Currently, the value of domestic production annually is about Rs 30,000 crore.

KM Subramanian, president of Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA), said, “The central government has taken this step after Operation Sindoor. It may have been for security reasons, but we welcome this move. This will improve domestic production in Tiruppur.”

MP Muthurathanam, president of Tiruppur Exporters and Manufacturers Association (TEAMA), said, “On May 17, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade shut down all land ports with Bangladesh for import of apparel (ready-made garments) from Bangladesh. Import of ready-made garments is allowed only through two seaports. This is good news for our domestic manufacturers since Tiruppur’s domestic production has not risen above Rs 30,000 crore since five years as ready-made garments are being imported from Bangladesh.”

“There is a tax rebate on ready-made garments imported from Bangladesh. Plus, the labour costs are lower there. Even if raw materials are imported from China to Bangladesh, there is no tax for the industrial sector. Due to this, they are able to sell ready-made garments at 20-25% less than our prices. As a result, many big domestic traders buy from Bangladeshi manufacturers, affecting our orders,” he added.

Further, Muthurathanam said, “We have expressed our concerns to the central government in this regard. This move will greatly reduce the import of ready-made garments, and will also restrict the entry of cheap raw materials from China into India. In 2024, India’s imports of ready-made garments from Bangladesh were valued at USD 634 million.”

Robo D Ravichandran, secretary of Tirupur Domestic Garments Manufacturer Association (TIDGMA), said, “They had more tax concessions than us. If our ready-made garments are priced at Rs 100, they are able to sell their product at Rs 70. This is the main reason why most of our orders went to Bangladesh during the previous two Deepavali festivals when demand is at its peak. Currently, they can ship ready-made garments into India only through seaports. This will cause delays and transportation costs, and force them to raise the prices of their garments,” he added.

Published on: 28th May 2025 

Source: New Indian Express