Indian spinning mills want the anti-dumping duty imposed on imports of viscose staple fiber to be scrapped. The feeling is that the levy could hit domestic textile manufacturers who are already reeling under a high cost of production and sagging export demand. India imports viscose staple fiber mainly from Indonesia and China. The fiber is one of the major inputs for manufacturing of man-made fiber yarn in India and is mostly used for the manufacture of fabrics made of poly viscose and viscose yarn.

One criticism of the anti-dumping duty is that it’s being used by domestic viscose staple fiber manufacturers as a shield to cover their inefficiencies and inadequacies in a competitive environment. The demand for viscose staple fiber is expected to rise on the back of rising disposable incomes. Lower requirements of resources land and water have made viscose staple fiber preferable to and more cost effective than cotton production.

Fabrics of viscose fibers are easily dyed and have excellent hygienic properties. India is the second largest producer of viscose filament yarn in the world. Depending upon the intended use, viscose fibers are made into textile or cord threads as well as staple fiber.