Attack hits exporters too; buyers cancel Mumbai tours

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New Delhi: The terror attack on Mumbai couldn’t have come at a worse time for India’s exporters, already reeling under the slowdown in major markets like the US and the European Union, especially since the terror perpetrators are targeting foreign nationals staying in Mumbai’s two major luxury hotels.

Several exporters, especially those belonging to the textile and clothing sector, said they have been getting e-mails and telephone calls from their buyers in the US and EU informing cancellation or postponement of visits to India due to the terror attack.

Worst affected are textile, clothing and sectors where foreign buyers, including designers and merchandisers, have to make frequent visits to India to interact physically with exporters in India prior to confirmation of orders. This is because fashion changes every four months or so and orders are based on seasonal needs, said RK Dhawan, former additional director-general of foreign trade. These buyers therefore visit the units in India, see the quality of the products and negotiate prices before finalizing the contracts for orders, he said.

Mumbai being the business capital of India and headquarters of several export houses, luxury hotels like Taj Mahal Palace and Trident are the favourites of a majority of these international buyers, said SK Saraf, chairman (western region), Federation of Indian Export Organisations, the apex body of exporters.

“At least five of our members called me saying their buyers have cancelled the visits. And these are big buyers,” Saraf said. However, he declined to name the buyers, saying those calls and emails were confidential and that it would affect the buyer-exporter relationship.

Saraf, who is also the MD of an export-oriented company called Techocraft Industries, said he himself got two e-mails, one from a German buyer and another from the US, saying that under the prevailing circumstances in Mumbai, they have been advised not to visit India. Saraf said he would now have to make emergency visits to Germany and the US to ensure that he does not lose out major orders.

“These terror attacks will have very serious ramification on the garment and sectors where buyers need to see a model product before finalizing orders,” he said.