The mandatory certification for export of organic products to finished textile products, including yarn, fabrics, made-ups and garments extended by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade DGFT on November 18 has been deferred.

This move came in after Texprocil had urged the commerce ministry to extend the December 18 deadline for mandatory certification to enable the sector to conform to the new procedure.

Industry has welcomed the move stating that organic textile exports would be possible now.

R K Dalmia, the chairman of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil), said that deferring will give exporters and buyers sufficient time to adopt and adapt to the changes. The step will help toss the fears of buyers, as many weren't willing to embrace the new procedure.

As organic products account for 5-10 per cent of textile exports from India, earlier Dalmia was of the view that with the implementation of mandatory certification for finished products would present a hurdle to the organic textile sector and lead to a fall in exports. Texprocil had sought an extension of at least a year in its implementation.

While, D K Nair of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry is of view that the export of organic products would not have been possible with a short notice in the absence of mandatory registration certificates. Since the certificates didn't exist, there would have been no export of organic textile products from India. But now, exports will be possible, as shipments will start immediately.