SURAT: The apparel manufacturers in south Gujarat's first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for garment and textile are at the receiving end as the denotification of apparel park hangs in balance.
While the unit owners in
SEZ are willing to wind up their manufacturing facilities following the steep decline in export orders from key markets like US, Europe, Germany and Japan, the concerned departments in central and state government are yet to take any decision.
The Surat Apparel Park Association (SAPA), apex body of garment manufacturers in SEZ, has urged the central and the state governments that SEZ should be denotified and converted into a regular apparel park so that the units can face the onslaught of dwindling demand from key export markets by selling their garments in domestic market.
According to the data released by Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), India exported garments worth $ 2.41 billion in the quarter that ended on June 30 as compared to $ 2.85 billion it earned in the previous year. In June, garment exports fell 10.15 per cent from $ 968 million to $ 870 million due to the dwindling demand from key foreign markets and the trend continued in the first quarter of 2010.
Secretary, SAPA, Nilesh Mehra told TOI, "About 41 stakeholders in SEZ have sent letters to the concerned departments seeking de-notification of the apparel park from SEZ. In the last few months, around 20 per cent of the garment workers have lost their jobs due to the cut in production of garments."
According to Mehra, Surat Apparel Park in Sachin was converted to SEZ in 2006. Out of the 128 demarked plots inside the SAP-SEZ, developed by GIDC, only 66 plots are sold to 42 unit holders. Only 11 units have started so far employing more than 3,000 workers from nearby villages, while the construction of other eight units are going on.
There are some 23 units owners who are not ready to invest in the park following the low sustainability.
"The total investment by 11 units so far is around Rs 195 crore and the export in the last three years since August-2006 is hardly Rs 60 crore. This shows that the Apparel SEZ in Surat is a loss making venture and thus, we are not interested to continue in it for long," said managing director, Saffari Apparels, Kirti Patel said.
Source : TOI