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Delays on key garment inputs from China are adding to difficulties for Indian manufacturers |
Indian apparel exporters are fearing missed deadlines, with key inputs from China having either been stuck at Indian customs for the past 10 days or not shipped at all following military tensions between the two neighbours.
“One of our [export] shipments has to leave in 10 days but its accessories [from China] are stuck at the Mumbai port,” Rajesh Malhotra, director, IR Accessories (part of IR Apparel & Accessories), in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, told just-style.
He warned: “If the material does not arrive soon, we will have to inform our clients [about delays].”
Also, new shipments, mostly of printed labels, tags, zips and buckles, have also not been dispatched from China due to some unknown reasons, Malhotra added. “All the loss is ours as Chinese suppliers always take advance payments.”
The trade interruptions follow the killing of 20 Indian soldiers on 15 June in a Himalayan border skirmish with the Chinese army, which suffered an unknown number of casualties. As a result, Indian customs authorities have started targeting Chinese businesses and products with special regulatory vigour. Although this is causing problems for every industry sourcing inputs from China, garment exporters are under tough pressure because they work on tight deadlines. “We maintain a stock of 20 to 25 days for accessories and 45 to 50 days for fabric,” said Malhotra.
A Sakthivel, chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) of India told just-style he hoped the bottleneck would get cleared soon, highlighting some promising news that: “I am told by [one of our members] that the consignments at Chennai airport have started getting cleared this morning [Wednesday].”
However, with the industry struggling to cope with the Covid-19 crisis, such additional difficulties can create crises for troubled manufacturers, said Rahul Mehta, president of the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI). “Due to [Covid-19 related] lockdown, slump in demand, reduced workforce [resulting from reverse migration of labour to their native villages] and the restriction on working hours, the Indian garment manufacturers are already walking a very tight rope with delivery schedule.”
As reported on just-style earlier this month, export-oriented Indian garment manufacturers emerging from lockdown are struggling to fulfil new orders due to severe labour shortages caused by the continuing migration of workers to their traditional village homes.
