Textile MSMEs of Surat Urged For Attention Ahead of Budget 2019

About 40% of the production has fallen due to a rapid decrease in demand which has led to the massive immigration of workers of the textile industry, warned Laxmiprasad Todi, Co-Secretary, Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association.

Surat has traditionally been a textile city of Gujarat and was later the leader of the textile producer in the entire country by producing around 65% of the total textiles. It soon came to be known as the “textile city” with large masses migrating in search of a livelihood.

However, with the introduction of new schemes like GST and alterations in Income Tax Policy, the entire textile hub of Surat has taken a massive blow.

Despite the upgradation of the Surat Airport, there are still many setbacks that the industry faces such as an increase in the cost of production, said Todi while sharing the challenges being faced by the industry in Surat.

He mentioned “Improvement in Income Tax would lead to efficient production and potentially a better growth of the industry as a whole. Better subsidies are also expected from the Government in the upcoming Budget. Structured use of GST will also be useful for the fate of Surat textiles. Currently these schemes have led to an immense downfall of the industry.”

The textile industry has been left shorthanded with a large number of people moving out of Surat in search of greener pastures and the Co- Secretary affirmed this.

“Over the course of 5 years, a lot of traders have fled away to metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai in search of work,” he said.

“There is still a demand in the Middle East. But exports have taken a hit because of the GST Act. With sustainable efforts from the government, the industry will pick itself within 1-2 years. In the short run, yes, we are floundering, but I believe the current government will aid us in the long run,” asserted the Co-Secretary.