Chinese synthetic textile imports surges after anti-dumping duty levy on PTA

India has seen a surge of synthetic textile products imports from China after imposing an anti-dumping duty on a key raw material for such products, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturers Association said on Friday.

India imposed anti-dumping duties in the range of $19.05-117.09 a tonne depending on the country of import imposed on purified terephtalic acid (used for making synthetic textile fibres) from China, Korea, the European Union and Thailand. This was after a plea by Reliance Industries Ltd and Mitsubishi’s MCC PTA India Corporation

CPMA says that after the anti-dumping duty was levied on the raw material, the finished good – in this case synthetic textiles – are being imported in large volumes from China. 

According to the association, imports of polyester staple fibre more than tripled to 16,785 tonnes in July-August this year, compared with 4,441 tonnes a year before. Similarly, purchases of PFY from overseas more than doubled to 8,965 tonnes in the last two months from a year earlier.

“Sharp surge in import of Chinese synthetic textile items and raw materials is posing a major risk to Indian synthetic textile industry,” CPMA said in a statement. 

China is becoming more aggressive now since its domestic demand is stagnant. 

“China also intends to finish off competition from Indian domestic producers in the case of raw materials used for synthetic textiles so that Chinese producers can dictate terms later,” CPMA said in its statement. 

The CPMA has also written to Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce, to apprise her of the situation. 

Source: Hindu Business Line