Fishnet manufacturers here are elated over the anti-dumping duty imposed on the import of nets from China and Bangaldesh. Calling the decision a big help to local fishermen, M. Shafiullah, former honorary secretary of the Indian Fishnet Manufacturers Association, said Indian nets were better in quality. China is our main competitor now in terms of numbers. But when it comes to quality, the world trusts Indian nets. This anti-dumping duty means an additional $2.19/kg for Chinese nets and $2.8/kg for Bangladeshi nets. This will put an end to imports and aid our units to work to their full capacity, he said. Earlier, nets were being imported at prices less than the cost of raw material, he pointed out. India was ranked second in the world in manufacturing nylon fishing nets and the country exported around 10 – 12% of the 25,000 tonnes produced annually. Tamil Nadu, a major manufacturing hub, will benefit from this move, said Suresh Radhakrishnan of Indonets, Nagercoil. Of the total 550 fishing net units in the country, Tamil Nadu has around 250 units that produce nylon nets and many of them are in Kanniyakumari district. We can expect more business from places such as Kolkata and Mumbai where Chinese nets have been dumped. If we have regular business, then we will be able to give better prices to fishermen, he said. Fishing nets retailer M.D. Dayalan of Kingfish Fish Nets, who welcomed the move, said it would provide an opportunity for Indian manufacturers to improve their quality. Call for regulation However, a few dealers were sceptical about the move. Of course, it will do away with outside competition but the Indian manufacturing sector does not have proper regulation. The quality of the nets here too need to improve, said S. Muthu, a dealer. In many cases, small manufacturers do not even give us bills or paste MRP rates on net bundles, which leads to various taxation issues for us, he said adding that the manufacturers, at times, reduce prices to kill smaller companies. The trade has its share of unfair practices and it needs to be regularised, he demanded.