Surat textile industry hit by Covid-19 surge; loses Rs 8,000 crore

Surat textile industry which was to reap huge profit amounting to Rs 8,000 during this season of festivals is hit hard by the surge in Covid cases. It has been decided that traders coming to the textile market from other states will have to undergo a mandatory Covid test and stay in quarantine for seven days.

Surat: The period between March and May is to witness large scale trade in Surat which usually amount to Rs 8,000 crore. Visitors have also cancelled their tickets and sales are hit hard by surge in Covid-19 cases.

Furthering concern, 450 people have tested positive in the last five days in the city. The highest number of Covid-19 cases were reported from the market. Till now, the number of Covid patients adds up to 140 in the market.

Restrictions laid down by Surat Municipal Corporation have been stringently implemented in the market. It has been decided that traders coming to the textile market from other states will have to undergo a mandatory Covid test and stay in quarantine for seven days. Due to that, the inflow of traders in the market has declined sharply which in turn worsened the trade.

Two and a half crore meters of grey cloth is produced daily in Surat, plus 3.5 crore meters of cloths come from outside the city for processing in Surat. There is an average daily turnover of Rs 250 crore in the sector.

Talking to ETV Bharat, FOSTA director Ranganath Sharda said that business was hit hard last year during the lockdown period. However, they had hopes that business would revive and there would be a turnover of Rs 8,000 crore.

But now, Covid cases have surged and visitors have cancelled their tickets. Ramadan, Akshaya Tritiya were to reap huge profits but visitors have cancelled their tickets. On average, orders during the wedding season amounted to Rs 6,000 crore while Rs 1,000 crore was accounted for during Ramadan, Rs 200 crore during Akshay Tritiya and Rs 200 crore during Ugadi and Rs 300 crore for school uniforms. Workers in the industry have taken long leave and left the city in fear of another lockdown, he added.

Meanwhile, a textile trader from Surat, Shrikrishna Banka told ETV Bharat that during last week about 400 trucks load of cloths were dispatched for other states from the city. However, during this week only 350 trucks have been dispatched and even fewer trucks would only be dispatched next week. Night curfew has been imposed in Surat, forcing the merchants to close their shops at seven o'clock. This has affected the overall business, he added.