Amritsar’s warp-knitting industry faces slow down as competition rises

Many Amritsar based skilled knitting artisans have shifted to Surat to run it’s warp-knitting industry during the past few years due to which Amritsar warp knitting industry is facing considerable slow down in the growth as competition rises and also Amritsar’s number one position held in the country has been dethroned by Surat.

An entrepreneur dealing in the knitting fabric, Jatinder Sharma, said that over Rs 2,500 crore annual turnover warp knitting industry of the holy city was facing the heat now as the competition from Gujarat-based knitters slowed down the growth of local industry considerably. Surat-based warp knitting industry progressed 10 times in the past five years.

He further said that the government fails to understand industry, its requirement. Besides anything else, the industry requires marketing for its products. Keeping in view its wide use in a spectrum of products, this variety of textile has markets all over the world.

Another manufacturer Raman Aggarwal said that 350 warp knitting manufacturing units were active in the city. Being a highly labour intensive industry it provides employment to thousands of men and women. However, the industry was in need of skilled artisans, who were extremely difficult to find.

Many units have closed due to high maintenance cost and expensive skilled labour. Lack of support from the government was a gain for warp knitting industries of China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Turkey, which are capturing world markets in a big way.

There are no garmenting units in the city to turn the fabric produced in to an end product. Hence, they are selling textile to industries based in Kolkatta, Delhi, Surat, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Wrap knitting fabric, a branch of the textile industry, is widely used in a range of items, including shoes, school bags, automobile vehicles, furnishers, curtains, bed sheets, briefcases, sportswear, helmets, travelling accessories, men and women wears, besides many other items.