COVID-19 EFFECTS ON TEXTILE INDUSTRY
Among the massive impact that the coronavirus has made on the economies, the textile industry has been hit hard. With the various measures taken by the government and the sudden shutting down of factories, closure of the malls, faltering of exports/imports, the sale of textile is likely been facing an unparalleled situation and has borne severe losses. Amid the lockdown period, here are some of the areas as well as the effects of this lockdown which has been hard hit.
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NEGATIVE COVID-19 EFFECTS ON TEXTILE INDUSTRY:
- DOMESTIC SALES:— The government’s decision to close all the malls and retail outlets with a view to controlling the situation at an early stage, has resulted in a substantial reduction in the sale of domestic textile and clothing. Since March 22, 2019, the beginning of lockdown, all the shops, malls, retail outlets, brands, fashion boutique, had stayed completely shut till the beginning of phase 4.0. Textile Industry had to bear a terrible loss of income especially in the month of April which was one of the peak seasons of textile sales. This year April was not the same as previous years, the manufacturers whether be it small or big we’re not allowed manufacture, retails didn’t open up their retail stores even on the occasions of Ram Navami, Bengali New Year, and Ramadan thus struggling with a huge amount of losses.
- EXPORTING: — Prior to the outbreak of coronavirus, the US and Europe together constitute for approx. 60 % of the apparels export from India. Hence, India could see every window opened to overpower China in the field of the textile industry. China was not able to fulfill its order. In fact, there was like in demand for the textile market as all china orders were routed to India and other neighboring countries. Both in manufacturing as well as fabric. But with the grinding panic created by COVID-19, the peak seasons of exporting garments have faced severe losses by causing order cancellations, inventory pile up, dumping of the orders into the domestic country which directly impacted the domestic prices in the domestic market leading to more reduced margins.
- CASH FLOW CONSTRAINTS:—The sector has been struggling with working capital requirements and profitability issues due to the high decline in exports, cheaper imports, and piling up of inventory.
- SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION:—The garments and fabric manufacturers are tussling with local sourcing opportunities as no new retail starts up are showing up while the existing retail stores are not showing up either for the fear prevailing or the restrictions imposed on by the government. The supply chain has been disrupted resulting in huge piling up of stocks, and loans on small retailers.
- CONSUMER SENTIMENTS: —If this nationwide fear of coronavirus continues and the situation persists, it will impact consumers’ sentiments on a higher side. The fear of COVID-19 prevailing into the minds of the consumers would force them to postpone all their plans and thus leading to not purchasing any garments which directly affect the textile industry.
- FASHION: —Fashion also plays a major role in the success of the textile industry. Human psychology tends to move towards the most trending thing. Thus, when the panic will be under control and the situation will be better, people will tend to purchase garments and fabric as per the new fashion prevailing then. Thus, this will prove to be a greater loss for the manufacturers as they will have their old inventories piled up and have not had sufficient working capital to manufacture in larger quantities.
- EMPLOYMENT:— The Textile Industry is the second largest employer after agriculture. If the garment industry closes down, it would impact the entire value chain from the fabric industry to the brand to the label industry. Around 129 lakhs of people’s livelihood is dependent on the textile industry out of which 65-70 % are women. Due to the fear of coronavirus and lockdown still persisting, about 25 % of the p4eople have lost their job in this industry.
- EFFECT ON TIRUPUR:—Tirupur is one of the largest textile hubs in the country which has completely been deserted. The city had a total turnover of about RS. 25000 crores from exports and around the same amount in the domestic market.
POSITIVE COVID-19 EFFECTS ON TEXTILE INDUSTRY:
- The Indian Textile Industry might witness an upswing with the industry adapting to the changing requirements under the leadership and guidance of Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani. Asia’s leading pharmaceuticals manufacturer Biocon Limited’s Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw praised Smriti Irani for her stellar leadership in the time of the COVID crisis.
- India has now become the second-largest manufacturer of PERSONAL PROTECTIVE equipment (PPE) body coverall after china within a time span of just 2 months by producing 3 lakhs PPE kits daily with full guarantee of both quality and quantity of the PPE coveralls with the help of Arvind Mills.
- Since India has been losing its competitive edge in the global textile sector, the government has decided to hire a consultancy firm for the textile industries to identify new opportunities for market expansion, maintain a database on international tariffs, trade data, growth trends, the impact of international agreements, free trade agreements, production and employment in the sector.
- Amid the negativity and stressful scenario spread by covid-19, the Indian Textile Industry has discovered a ray of hope for their exports. As the countries across the world are following the slogan “Anti – China Wave “ with an aim to push out their industry out of china and completely boycott china by declaring an exit from all investing and industries of China. Thus, this has provided a golden opportunity to India to rebuild its power and once again attain its superiority in the textile industry.
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Author: Bhagyashree Chandak
About the Author:
I aspire to become a research analyst and earn and use the best of my knowledge.
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