Polls in three states prop up Surat’s low-cost saris sale

SURAT: Elections Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have come a big breather for makers of Surat’s famed low-cost saris who were hit hard by the Goods & Services Tax (GST)


Textile traders are expecting to sell saris worth at least Rs 200 crore in these poll-bound states. The turnover of polyester fabric had fallen by nearly 40% to Rs 75 crore post-GST from the daily turnover of Rs 110 crore after implementation of GST.

Industry sources said candidates in these poll-bound states distribute cheap saris costing between Rs 100 to Rs 200 to appease the women vote bank, especially in the remote and rural areas.

Secretary of Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA), Champalal Bothra said, “It’s a late Diwali for the low-cost sari traders in Surat. Orders have already started coming in and we expect to sell saris worth at least Rs 200 crore.”

Sanjay Bansal, a wholesale trader dealing in low-cost saris in Salabatpura, has recently dispatched a consignment of 50,000 saris priced between Rs 100 -Rs 150 in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

“We receive orders directly from the agents working for the political parties. In all, I have orders for 75,000 saris from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh” said Bansal.

Surat is famous for its inexpensive polyester saris. It is here that the buyers could even strike a deal for Rs 70 per saris depending on volume. Out of the total Rs 15,000 crore worth of annual sari sale in the textile markets, about Rs 5,000 worth of saris comes from the sale of low-cost saris.

The textile traders dealing in low-cost saris procure cheap unfinished fabrics from Bhiwandi and Malegaon in Maharashtra at the cost of Rs 9 per meter. The cheap fabrics is finished in the city’s textile processing mills. The profit margin ranges between 5-10% on each sari.

“Around 60-70 lakh meters of fabric is procured from Bhiwandi and Malegaon for the low-cost saris. The powerlooms weave unfinished fabrics valued at Rs 15 to Rs 150 per meter,” said Ashok Jirawala, president, Federation of Gujarat Weavers Association (FOGWA).

Surat famed for inexpensive saris

We receive orders directly from the agents working for the political parties. In all, I have orders for 75,000 saris from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,” a wholesale trader Sanjay Bansal said.

Surat is famous for its inexpensive polyester saris. It is here that the buyers could even strike a deal for Rs 70 per saris depending on volume. Out of the total Rs 15,000 crore worth of annual sari sale in the textile markets, about Rs 5,000 worth of saris comes from the sale of low-cost saris.

The textile traders dealing in low-cost saris procure cheap unfinished fabrics from Bhiwandi and Malegaon in Maharashtra at the cost of Rs 9 per meter. The cheap fabrics is finished in the city’s textile processing mills. The profit margin ranges between five and 10% on each sari.

“Around 60-70 lakh metre of fabric is procured from Bhiwandi and Malegaon for the low-cost saris. The power looms weave unfinished fabrics valued at Rs 15 to Rs 150 per metre,” Federation of Gujarat Weavers Association (FOGWA) president Ashok Jirawala said.