India is losing its market share in cotton and man-made fiber, as most products are made of coarse count yarn and man-made fiber prices are at least 25 per cent higher than rates prevailing in competing countries. Of the 864 textile and apparel commodities traded in 2012, India’s share was less than one per cent in at least 317 commodities. This is mainly because of the high duty structure on man-made fibers and the basic customs rate.

Unlike other sectors of the Indian textile industry, the synthetic fiber industry is an organised sector. The main products of synthetic fiber industry include man-made fiber and yarn. These man-made fibers and yarns constitute textiles of both cellulose and non-cellulose origin. The products includes polyester staple fiber, acrylic staple fiber and polypropylene staple fiber.

Slashing duty on man-made fibers is also expected to increase cotton consumption as demand for cotton-blended fabric is growing exponentially. Blends like cotton rich polyester, viscose, bamboo and modal are gaining traction to take advantage of the feel of cotton and the functionality of synthetic fibers. So the more synthetic blends the country spins, the higher will be the consumption of cotton.