Af owes India around ~300 cr, not ~4,000 cr

Following reports that textile traders in Surat are struggling due to pending payments from Afghanistan, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said around ~200-300 crore is stuck in that country for almost a year. There were media reports that said that the pending payments were to the tune of ~4,000 crore. When asked, A Sakthivel, chairman, AEPC, clarified, “It is hardly ~200-300 crore. There is no reason to panic.” When contacted, Champalal Bothra, general secretary, Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association, said ~4,000 crore has been pending since 2016. According to Narain Agarwal of the Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council, the figure was unlikely to be high since most exports happened via letter of credit.