The restive situation in Afghanistan has hit the textile industry in Gujarat’s Surat as payments to over 100 traders have been delayed. Textiles worth Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 crore were being annually traded from Surat to other countries, including Iran and Afghanistan. However, after the Taliban takeover, the industry fears that trade will completely come to a stop.
Prior to GST and the pandemic, 2,500 crore meters of cloth were dumped in the textile market. Then, it fell to Rs 1,500 crore meters. About 150 textile traders from different markets on the Ring Road were sending textile goods annually from Surat to Afghanistan.
After the recent developments in Afghanistan, many have shut their businesses down and left the country and the cloth market in Surat has been directly impacted.
The textile market shipped dress materials, shiny fabrics, soles and scarves in bulk to Chabahar via Iran and then to other Iranian ports. It was then sent by road to cities like Kabul, Kandahar and Ghazni. Besides, another trade route to Afghanistan was through Bangladesh, Dhaka and Dubai.
The city’s textile industry was dealt a huge blow due to GST and the coronavirus lockdown situations had already made it worse as festivals like Onam, Akha teej didn’t prove to be lucrative. In other states too, traders have lost crores of rupees due to the lockdown.
The traders are concerned that if the condition does not improve by Diwali, then the future is dark.
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