Second is the
continuing of interest subvention clause.
Presently we are enjoying a 2% interest
subvention, which is expiring on March 31
and we are asking for one year extension of
that. It was a part of the Reserve Bank’s
package when the rupee had appreciated and
we want that to continue.
The third thing is about the excise duty and
custom duty on man-made fibres and man-made
fabrics. Presently we are third largest
producer of man-made fibres and our duties -
both excise duty and customs duty - make us
uncompetitive. So we are trying to ask them
to reduce the duties so that we can become
competitive in the world market. These are
the three main issues.
Talking about the sector as a whole,
which regions saw some strength coming in
when it comes to demand, do you see recovery
coming in the coming quarters? Is the US
still a sour area or have you moved beyond
that now?
The US consumer market is still sluggish.
They have 11% unemployment, which is
registered and I feel that unemployment rate
is much more than 11 - it should be around
14-15%. People have started saving money in
the US and they are not buying as what they
were buying before. So unless that buying
comes in the retail, we will get our share
of orders. Right now the buying is very
slow, 2010 will be a sluggish year in terms
of retail buying and we have to go through
this difficult year.
Some companies in household textiles seem
to think that demand has picked up quite a
bit. Would that be an area that would
interest you now?
I do not see much of a reaction in the
market right now to be frank with you,
that’s the reason we are trying to explore
different items. We are going into
industrial ware, which is a different
ballgame altogether, that’s quite a big
market, which is about $4 billion worth of
industrial ware is placed to the various
countries in the east, which is Korea and
Taiwan and China, we are trying to bite a
slice of that.
We can make those garments and we are trying
to do one effort in that direction. Secondly
is to explore different markets. We are
trying Latin American and South African
markets but it is not so easy to penetrate
because the price points are quite low there
but all said and done, main two markets,
Europe and US are both right now very, very
sluggish and they will pick up after August
or September this year.
Do you think the appreciating rupee would
be a further cause of concern for you now?
I am a little more comfortable on that
issue. Earlier we have an indication that
they are heading for a rupee of 44 to a
dollar at least by April or May. Right now I
do not have that concept with the present
price of 46.20 or 46.25, I do not think we
should go below 46, this is my feeling
seeing the stock market and seeing the
rupee-dollar equation. We will hover around
46 levels and that scare is not that much
there as it was before.
