Budget: Textiles lose colour this time

Never has the Union Budget evoked such disappointment for the rupee-scarred textile and garment exporters. Says A Sakthivel, president, Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA): “We sought reduction of interest rates, exemption of service and fringe benefit tax, refund of state levies and taxes and refund of hedging cost. But none of these was fulfilled.”

Agrees V Kumar, president of the Karur Textile Manufacturer Exporters’ Association: “The FM has not addressed our core concerns. There is practically little to help us overcome internal crises such as fluctuating yarn price and cotton arrivals and external issues such as the rupee appreciation that is affecting the exports badly.”

Even the increased outlay on the Technological Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) from Rs 911 crore to Rs 1,090 crore hasn’t helped matters. There was a backlog of over Rs 600 crore from 2007-08 and the requirements for 2008-09 against existing loans would amount to another Rs 1,100 crore.

However, a welcoming feature for Tamil Nadu’s textile industry is the proposal for a powerloom cluster project in Erode at a cost of Rs 70 crore.

Says MS Mathivanan, chairman, Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council, “The cluster project would help in product and design development and train manpower for the powerloom units.”