Raja M Shanmugham, President, Textile Exporters Association (TEA) has urged Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce to help clear the 500 containers carrying apparel accessories and fabrics currently stuck in and around Chennai. These containers have come mainly from China. The imported consignments arriving from China have not been cleared by the Customs for the past 10 days even after duty has been paid. Shanmugham said garment exports are facing stiff competition from countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia, apart from China and foreign buyers are always very keen to get quality products at competitive prices and tight delivery schedules.
According to him, any delay in making sea shipments at the right time will push exporters to resort for Air shipment, otherwise the buyers won’t place any future orders and categorize the units as unreliable suppliers.