Tamil Nadu

Global meltdown taking toll on many textile testing agencies

Tirupur: Impact of recession sweeping the United States, which is the major market for the knitwear products produced from the Tirupur cluster, has slowly started being felt at the grass root levels here.

The President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations, A Sakthivel, told The Hindu that there was a reduction of 20 per cent in orders (value-wise) placed by the foreign buyers with knitwear manufacturers in Tirupur during the first nine months of this fiscal ending December 31 against the corresponding period last year.

The cascading effect has resulted in revenue getting dwindled for many agencies involved in textile testing and for institutions authorised by Union Ministry of Commerce to issue Certificates of Origin (non-preferential), situated here, during the last two months vis--vis corresponding period last year (ie 2007).

D. Dhandapani, deputy director, Textiles Committee, Government of India, said that its Regional Textile Testing Laboratory in Tirupur had received 50 per cent less cloth for testing during December when compared to December 2007.

Normally, there used to be a rush towards the year end as the buyers place orders in huge volumes during that phase. Regarding the issue of Certificate of Origin (non-preferential), organisations like Tirupur Exporters Association have issued about 1,200 certificates less during November-December period in 2008 when compared to November-December 2007.

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