Synthetic industrial textiles hold good growth potential

NEW DELHI, JULY 22. Industrial textiles, though nascent in the country, have immense growth potential with developed nations increasingly sourcing their requirements from India and other developing countries.

United States and European countries are now sourcing their industrial textile needs from developing countries and shifting their bases there, industry sources said.

China, in particular, is emerging as a technical textile 'superpower' although the potential of other developing countries, especially, India to make a major impact by 2005 is already becoming evident.

Also known as technical textiles, they have wide ranging applications in areas such as tyre industry, transport, roads, railways, agriculture, medical and domestic environment.

``Technical textile industry in India certainly has a good growth potential given the rising preference of the growing Indian population towards products such as upholstery, transmission belts, coir floor coverings and floppy disc envelopes," Mr. Vijay Bhalla, president, strategic business unit (yarns), Indo Rama, a pioneer in technical textiles in India, told PTI.

Rationalisation of duty on raw materials, lower power tariff, upgradation of infrastructure and reduction in the high duty on polyester are some of the measures that the industry demands for the growth of technical textile industry in India.

Indo Rama had set up a Rs. 170 crore integrated polyester plant at Butibori, near Nagpur in 1993. The year 1994-96 was the boom period for the polyester industry and Indo Rama reaped a good harvest, Mr. Bhalla said.

At present, fibre consumption in non-apparel segment in us is 60 per cent as compared to 22 per cent in India. Of the many areas where technical textiles have a growing application, transport sector has emerged as the single most valuable segment. "Good growth is projected in future as trucks and bus segment is likely to grow more rapidly than the growth of railways in movements of goods and people," a spokesman of the SRF Limited, the largest manufacturer of nylon tyrecord fabric (NTCF) in India, said.

The growth of the economy will provide for movement of goods and hence tyres will be much in demand, he added.

According to a CRIS-Infac forecast, demand for polyester staple fibre (PSF), a major constituent used in manufacture of technical textiles, is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7 per cent during 2000-05. The CRIS-Infac study also predicts an increase in exports of synthetic value-added items due to limited availability and usage of cotton.

The polyester fabric will also gain as price competitiveness of cotton Fibre is expected to decline in the coming years.

The highest growth rates in technical textiles are to be found in relatively small and newer application areas such as protective clothing, sports textiles and environmental products.

- PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Business
Next     : Competition Law in the reform era