The agitation in Haryana has hit Surat’s polyester fabric trade. Over 300 trucks, loaded with textile fabrics including saris and dress materials that were on their way to Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, were turned back due to widespread incidents of violence and arson. Surat traders have stopped taking delivery orders from markets in North India. Surat is India’s largest manmade fabric hub.

Most buyers in North India have cancelled their orders as they don’t want to take chances. A textile trader was supposed to deliver saris worth Rs 40 lakh to Haryana and Amritsar, but the orders were cancelled by buyers following the violence. North India is the largest market for manmade fabrics manufactured in Surat. Saris and dress materials worth around Rs 45 crores are transported to Delhi, Punjab and Haryana every day. More than 500 transport trucks are loaded from the city’s textile markets and sent to various places in north India.

North India is an important market for the textile sector. The sector has been passing through a tough phase and was hoping that the marriage season would come to its rescue. But those hopes have now been dashed.