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| Panipat handloom exporters fear serious slowdown this season |
| Vikas Sharma / New Delhi/ Chandigarh Feb 23, 2012, 00:22 IST |
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Manufacturers of textile products in Panipat, the Haryana city famous for its handloom products, are anticipating a slowdown in exports this year (2012-13). They believe that a slowdown in European markets could deccelerate the pace of growth for handloom exports from Panipat during this season.
Ram N Gupta, owner of Gupta textiles, notes that he has felt a slide in the export of his firm’s handloom products to Europe, which is witnessing a downturn.
Exporters say Europe comprises 30 per cent of Panipat’s total handloom export market, which is estimated to be a Rs 3,000-crore industry. That district, with 350 exporters, has handloom units that are engaged in manufacturing products like durries, mats, table covers, bed sheets, curtains and carpets among other home furnishing items. Handloom exporter in Panipat are back from the International Heimtextil fair held in Germany, where they negotiations with buyers from across Europe. The Handloom Exports Manufacturing Association says the just-concluded fair had not been promising for them. “We are anticipating a decline in exports, which we would mainly attribute to the European market,” according to the association’s president, Ramesh Verma. Prem Vijh, who heads the Panipat Exporters Association, also says they were not anticipating a growth in the handloom exports this year.
The slowdown in the European and US markets (which comprise half of Panipat’s total exports) could result in a 30 per cent slide in business for its handloom exporters, according to industrialists. Adds Verma: “The shortage of labour indeed is creating another serious problem for the industry. It is getting worse, and can even threaten the existence of the very handloom industry.” Substantiating, he says Panipat earlier had 3 lakh workers working in its handloom units. “But now, the number has shrunk to just 50,000. The implemenatation of MNREGA has taken away the labour from industry and left the industry grappling.” adds Verma.
“It’s time the government intervened.” The textile sector is labour-intensive, and is considered to be the country’s second-largest employment provider — after agriculture.
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