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High
duty on machinery keeps India out of $8 bn medical textile market
Steena
Joy - Mumbai
Despite the fact that the Asian region commands the highest market
share for medical textiles (33.41 per cent!), India does not have
a single plant for manufacturing spunbonded fabrics which are used
in these textiles. In the last five years not a single machine has
been imported and local requirements are being met by importing
the fabric.
Neighbouring China on the other hand with three giant plants for
spunbonded fabrics has cornered a large chunk of the market for
medical textiles in the region.
Industry experts blame it on the high duty on non-woven machinery
such as coating or impregnating and calendering machines. The prevailing
basic duty on these machines is as high as 25 per cent. Surprisingly
though recommendations have been made in the Satyam Committee report,
no concerted representation has been made to the government for
duty exemptions on non-woven machinery. In fact, spunbonded machinery
has not even been included under the gambit of the Technology Upgradation
Fund Scheme (TUFS).
SASMIRA has been of course actively promoting technical textiles
and has done a lot of research and studies on its emerging potential.
Based on these, the TRA has made detailed suggestions to the government
to include technical textiles in the Tenth Plan.
To remedy the situation, industry analysts have urged for only a
notional 5 per cent duty on non-woven machinery in the coming Budget
and have also requested that no old machinery should be allowed
for imports.
In a worldwide market of $60 billion for technical textiles, medical
textiles account for $8 billion. Products that come under medical
textiles include
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Wound dressing materials ranging from the traditional products
such as bandages, gauze, lint, wadding etc to sophisticated composite
products with wound healing properties.
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Protective textiles and clothing such as wraps, hats, shoe covers,
drapes and gown for patients and surgeons.
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Impregnated non-woven wipes for medical or hygiene purposes.
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High volume materials such as coverstock for absorbent products
including diapers, feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products.
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Some of the sophisticated and high value added materials like
surgical implants, dialysis products, sutures and artificial skin.
Regionwise
market share of
medical textiles (%)
W Europe 25.55
E Europe 2.69
N America 28.24
S America 2.91
Asia 33.41
Australasia 1.31
Rest of world 5.90
Source: Techtextil, Messe Frankfurt, GMBH
Estimated
world market size of hygiene products
Product Volume (bn sq m)
Diapers 20
Feminine Hygiene 3
Adult Incontinence 5
Source: Kusumgar Corporates
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