Imported leggings replacing Salwar; Surat manufacturers gear up to follow the trend

Surat

As leggings are becoming more popular than Salwar in urban areas recently, the manufacturers in Surat have started production of leggings. In last ix months nearly 50 machines are installed for manufacturing stitchless leggings. Order of around 100 other machines are in pipeline. Leggings that are available in range of Rs 70-500 are mostly imported from China and Malaysia. Due to growing adoption of leggings, Salwar market of Surat was adversely impacted. Mostly machinery for making of leggings is imported from China. According to a local manufacturer Chinese machines make stitchless leggings. While Chinese and Malaysian leggings have velvet inside which provides protection against cold, the local market needs cotton based leggings which is now manufactured in Surat. Another local innovation is related to the size of leggings. While Chinese women are short in height, Indian women many times need longer leggings. Surat has therefore started manufacturing 38044 size leggings costing below Rs 100 on an average on production side while selling price could be in range of Rs 200 to above 500.