As the country is still boiling over the ghastly Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 Indian soldiers, Indian exporters have also come together to take a stern action against Pakistan, who reportedly carried out the attack on February 14th..
According to reports, exporters from India’s largest man-made fabric (MMF) hub in Surat have stopped exporting fabrics to Pakistan after the attack.
Two of Pakistan’s biggest fabric markets- Azam cloth market in Lahore and Lucknow market in Karachi are likely to suffer most as they depend on polyester fabrics, saris, lenghas and dupattas, imported from Surat.
“A delegation from Surat had visited Azam and Lucknow markets in Karachi and Lahore last year. Majority of traders import cheap saris, lenghas and other fabrics from Surat and sell them after value addition. Small traders there will be finished if our exporters don’t supply raw material to them.” – Devkishan Manghani, Chairman, Textile Committee, Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (SGCCI)
Before 2014, the MMF exports from Surat to Pakistan stood at Rs2,400 crore. The exports of MMF fabrics from Surat to Pakistan was predicted to touch Rs3,000 crore by 2018.
