Textile and Clothing business bodies, on Tuesday, pleaded the government that revenue earned from imports should be used for immediate reimbursement of the exporters’ dues to help running their units without resorting to extreme step of laying off the work force.

Briefing reporters here, captains of the textile industry said that textile and clothing industry, which provides gainful employment and steady income to the millions, is engulfed by the threat of a rising rupee. It has eroded the sector’s competitive advantage in the export market.

Southern Indian Mills’ Association (SIMA) former President Manikam Ramaswamy said, “Textile and clothing units across the country have cut back the production and some are even contemplating exit.”

The current rupee crisis has adversely affected the tempo of growth of the industry in general and exports in particular due to the inherent handicaps of the Indian industry vis-vis its competitors in Asia, such as low productivity, costly and erratic power supply and other infrastructure bottlenecks.

Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Vice Chairman Shishir Jaipura said cotton exports from the country are increasing and the finished products from Pakistan, Bangladesh and China are coming back to India giving harsh competition at our own soil from raw products exported  from there.