Domestic technical textiles Industry Segment-wise consumption of ...

MEDITECH
Meditech products include textile material used in hygiene, health and personal care as well as
surgical applications. The Meditech products are available in woven, knitted and non-woven forms
based on the area of application. Increasingly, synthetic fibre is being used in the production of these
products.
The technical textile products covered under Meditech are as given below:-
• Baby diapers
• Incontinence diapers
• Sanitary napkin
• Surgical sutures
• Disposables
• Surgical dressing
• Contact lens
• Artificial implants
Technical textiles consumption under Meditech is estimated at around Rs 1,500 crore. The key
Meditech product is surgical dressings which accounts for over 50% of the total technical textile
consumption across Meditech segment. Surgical sutures account for around 21% of the total
consumption followed by contact lenses and artificial implants with shares of around 12% and 8%
respectively in the total consumption. The non-woven fabric in disposables accounts for 2% of the
technical textile usage in Meditech segment and sanitary napkins account for 1.65%.
The artificial implants are primarily imported with around 15% share of domestic production in total
usage. The non-woven fabric availability is limited in India and hence, the non-woven products such
as baby diapers and adult diapers are primarily imported.
The domestic consumption of technical textiles under Meditech is expected to increase from around
Rs 1,514 crore in 2007-08 to around Rs 2,263 crore by 2012-13.The demand for the Meditech
products is dependent on the health and hygiene sector growth. In the medium term (next 5 years), the
Meditech industry is expected to achieve growth at the rate of 8-9% year on year.
The type of fibre used varies based on the application. The synthetic fibres are steadily replacing
natural fibres. However, most of products under Meditech (and related fibre) need sterilisation and
should be non-carcinogenic and anti-allergen in nature.