CHENNAI: Non-Woven Federation of India (NWFI) has urged the Central government to lift the restrictions imposed on the exports of spun-bond non-woven fabrics and masks, with the sector’s representatives submitting that the move is significantly impacting the sector. Nikesh Shah, general secretary of NWFI, which represents regional associations of spun-bond nonwoven fabric manufacturers and its products, including masks, has claimed that there is a strong anti-China sentiment in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and everyone is looking at India as an alternative to China.
However, due to the ban on exports, the manufacturers have not been able to take advantage of this situation. “Instead, the business is going to countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia,” said Shah. NFWI said that the had government recently allowed the exports of non-woven fabric of other than 25-70 GSM (Gram per Square Metre), while exports of fabric of 25-70 GSM continue to be prohibited. “The majority of the demand is for spun-bond nonwoven fabric of 25-70 GSM.
There should not be any restrictions on exports of fabric based on particular GSM,” said Suresh Patel, president of NFWI. The Federation said that the restrictions on exports of spun-bond non-woven fabric and masks were justified when outbreak had started, but now the sector has surplus capacity. By lifting the ban, the Government will help the sector to attract good export orders, he noted. India’s spun-bond production capacity is 41,350 metric tonne per month while the sector has the capacity to daily produce 2 crore three ply masks and 70 lakh N95 masks.
“Currently, we are manufacturing much more than our domestic requirement. Since exports are not being allowed, the capacity is grossly underutilized, causing huge losses to manufacturers,” said Anshumali Jain, vice president, NWFI. NWFI also demanded that the Centre should stop dutyfree imports of masks. “More than 6 crore N95 masks have been imported duty-free between March and May. When local companies are in a position to meet the demand, the government should stop the duty-free imports,” Patel said.