Manufacturers in the century-old shawl industry, estimated at Rs 1,000 crore, expect 15 to 20 per cent growth in business this year.
In the wake of a good monsoon and an early winter, coupled with good demand in the international market, the century-old shawl industry of Amritsar is expecting 15-20 per cent growth in business this year.
Further, to meet international standards, manufacturers have turned to new and improved designs, colours and wool quality, and have inducted state-of-the-art imported machinery.
The overall size of the industry is about Rs 1,000 crore, with a majority of the units being SMEs. The city currently houses about 150-200 units and employs over 60,000 people directly and indirectly.
Speaking to Business Standard, the general secretary of the Shawl Club (India) Amritsar, Piara Lal Seth said, “The good monsoon, economic growth and early winter have pushed up the demand for shawls and stoles in the domestic and overseas markets. Lately, Indian shawls have become an international ‘statement’ and this has given an unexpected boost to exports from Punjab. We are expecting 15-20 per cent growth in business this year.”
Apart from Amritsar and Ludhiana, exports from Kullu and Srinagar have also received a boost. Besides overseas Indians, big departmental stores overseas have helped the industry in attracting foreign customers. Stoles have caught the attention of the younger generation in foreign countries.
The annual export of shawls from Amritsar is estimated at Rs 150-200 crore. The city is now focusing attention on Australia, Europe, Japan, the Middle East and the US markets. It has the lion’s share of the country’s annual exports of shawls and stoles of Rs 500-600 crore. The remainder of the market is shared between Ludhiana, Kullu, Srinagar and other locations.
More From This Section
Furthermore, in order to keep pace with time, shawl-making SMEs have installed state-of-the art imported machinery. From a modest beginning in 2002 with two shuttle-less looms, the industry now boasts of 300 looms. Besides, there are 1,500 traditional looms in the city. Industrialists say that the introduction of shuttle-less electronic Jacquard looms of Italian make, costing Rs 50-55 lakh each, has revolutionised the quality and pace of work.
Manufacturers are of the view that in comparison to traditional looms, fabric made on shuttle-less looms is of superior quality. However, traditional looms, which cost about Rs 100,000 each, have not lost their relevance altogether. They are inexpensive, and are still present in large numbers.
In order to meet the demand, many units are planning to expand, but there are bottlenecks that are hampering growth. Industrialists said that many of them wished to upgrade their units, but the high customs duty on imported shuttle-less looms, which is around 19.75 per cent, is preventing them from doing so.
Also, they said that the fresh sanction of funds under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) has been withheld since June 29 this year, and that this is affecting the industry. Besides, they added, there has been a 50 per cent increase in the prices of raw material such as cotton, acrylic, polyester and viscose, which is also affecting the bottom lines of shawl manufacturers