Hosiery Manufacturers Have Sought a Level-Playing Field

 from the textile hub of Ludhiana in India's Punjab province have sought a level-playing field, especially in relation to their Bangladeshi counterparts.
 
The Knitwear Club, which represents hosiery and knitwear manufacturers in Ludhiana, has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying the Government's decision to allow 48 apparel items from Bangladesh to enter India duty-free is affecting hosiery manufacturers in Ludhiana.
 
The letter says Ludhiana hosiery manufacturers are losing out to competition from Bangladesh, resulting in a dip in the volume of their business as the number of orders has declined.
 
The letter explains that Bangladesh products are low-priced compared to those manufactured in Ludhiana, owing to low cost of labour, lesser bank interest rates, low cost of production and lower power tariff in Bangladesh.
 
Hence, the Government should provide a level-playing field for Indian hosiery makers to enable them to compete with their Bangladeshi counterparts, the Knitwear Club said.
 
The Club has urged the Government to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the impact of granting duty-free access to Bangladeshi readymade garments (RMG) in India.
 
There are around 12,000 small and medium hosiery and other textile units in Ludhiana, which together provide direct and indirect employment to more than 400,000 people.