The government said import of textiles and clothing items from China into the country is not so large to pose any threat to the domestic
industry.
"No specific study has been conducted to assess the impact on the domestic textiles industry since the import of textiles and clothing items from China into India is not so large to pose any threat to the domestic industry," Minister of State for Textiles EVKS Elangovan said in a written reply to a query in Rajya Sabha.
India's import of textiles and clothing from China in 2007 -08 was valued at USD 1.37 bn against USD 1.14 bn a year ago.
Replying to another question, the minister said India's textiles exports dipped by 16.5 per cent in October 2008 on account of the economic meltdown in the US and EU, the major markets for Indian exports.
However, $12.14-bn exports in April-October 2008 were 5.25 per cent up from $ 11.53 bn in the year-ago period.
He also said the industry and trade associations have made submissions before the government regarding loss of employment in the textiles and garmenting industry due to cheap imports. "However, no specific or definite number of job loss has been reported so far," he said.
