The ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, which fuelled the latest uncertainty in the global market, is expected to impact the textile sector, months after tariffs imposed by the Trump administration posed a significant hurdle for the industry.
Speaking to NDTV Profit, Pallab Banerjee, managing director of Pearl Global, a leading apparel manufacturer, highlighted the impact on the textile sector due to the tariffs and the West Asia war.
Banerjee said that the tariffs have impacted the textile sector more than the ongoing war between the US-Israel and Iran.
"The US tariff was a major stumbling block, compared to what we are seeing today in terms of so far, any price changes, or anything that has already impacted, in terms of the commodities and all that's quite negligible compared to what we had in terms of the tariff impact," he said.
Amid the uncertainty, Banerjee highlighted consumer sentiment and noted, "So far, there's no disturbance in this part."
ALSO READ: India's Textile Industry Sees 20-25% Surge In Raw Material Costs
What Challenge Remains?
According to Banerjee, one of the key challenges currently is the uncertainty due to the conflict and how much the oil price will rise if the tensions continue. "I would say the challenge that may be what will happen today in terms of war, how Trump is going to react and how Iran is going to react if the fuel prices go up beyond that $150 or $200 in over a period of month," he said.
Highlighting the specific impact due to the war, Banerjee remarked that the container prices have increased significantly, which is typically not borne by exporters.
"What we are seeing is that container prices have gone up by almost 50% since before the war, till today. But most of the exporters are not paying the freight cost. The freight is something which is built in when the importer is taking the goods from us," he said.
ALSO READ: Gas Shortage Triggers Worker Exodus in Surat, Textile Units Hit as Migrants Head Home
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