AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

NT Bureau
Chennai, June 28:

        Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) has asked the Central government to immediately intervene and take some relief measures as the appreciation of rupee against the US dollar was affecting the textile industry.

        Council chairman Prem Malik, at a press conference here yesterday, said the Centre should provide relief by way of increasing duty drawback rates by five per cent.

        Elaborating on it, he said the appreciation of rupee by 11.57 per cent during June 2006 to June 2007 had brought about a decline in value terms in India's exports to the United States by 1.48 per cent and to the European Union by 12.61 per cent.

        'The rupee appreciation had slowed down exports and severely affected production, capacity utilisation,' he said adding: 'The unprecedented appreciation of rupee would lead to loss of around 5.79 lakh potential jobs both direct and indirect.'

        'A large number of small and medium-sized producers of fabrics supplying to readymade garments (RMG) unit were facing closure as RMG exports had not declined sharply,' Malik said.

        The situation is no more about profitability but of survival of workers, he added. Malik suggested the Centre should provide relief to the industry from the revenue augmented from levy of special Countervailing Duty (CVD) of four per cent on all imports introduced in the budget for 2005-06.

        Malik further said that a delay in announcing relief measures (by the government) would affect India's competitive advantage since Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 0.78 per cent and Bangladesh Taka by 0.95 per cent.