Garment makers again go on warpath against duty hike

Garment and hosiery manufacturers (including major retail chains) across the country have joined a two-day nationwide 'silent protest' and hunger strike from today in protest against the 10 per cent excise duty on apparel, hosieries and made-ups announced in this year's union budget. 

The Federation of Readymade Garments and Hosiery Associations of India, which has called the strike, said the protest will witness participation from textile dominated regions like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Indore and Ludhiana. Other minor centres, including Varanasi, Kanpur, Saharanpur, Bellary and Tirupur fully supporting the protest, a federation press release said. 

The entire industry plans to remain shut for these days, resulting in an expected loss of about Rs 250 crore a day. About a million people from about 300,000 units across India are participating in the strike, it said. 

In fact the industry employs more than 50 million people directly or indirectly, and provides livelihood to eight per cent of the population. More than 40 per cent of the workforce is women. 

The federation said raw cotton prices had shot up by 150 per cent and yarn by 100 per cent; while other inputs like elastic, sewing thread and labour had also gone up. This has resulted in a 30 to 50 per cent increase in prices of readymade garments, hosiery goods and made-ups, putting immense pressure on the industry. 

The Gujarat Garment Manufacturers Association (GGMA) has confirmed that its members join the 48-hour bandh. According to the GGMA, their business has come to standstill in the last 11 days and many large retailers have already increased prices by 10 to 20% to cover the excise impact.