Ahmedabad: The proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) likely to come up with the European Union, shall open new trade avenues for the estimated 49 billion USD Indian Apparel and Textile Industry in years to come, an industry expert said.
"Textile ministry is preparing the draft of FTA with EU, as part of its initiative to give Indian textile industry an edge over other countries like Bangladesh, which already enjoys a zero tariff regime on exports to EU," Union Joint Secretary Textile J N Singh said, on the sidelines of
International Conference for Textile and Apparel Industry.
According to industry estimates, Europe has 29 percent share in world trade, and eastern European countries like Turkey have major market share in it.
"The total exports of India textiles are pegged at USD 21 billion, out of which USD 6 to 7 billion exports are to EU," Singh said adding "the country shall take a major stride in exports as and when FTA with EU happens."
The home textile segment here shall get a jump of USD 0.5 billion within a few years of signing the FTA, he added. Meanwhile, Union Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran is scheduled to lead a delegation of Indian textile industry CEO's to European countries like Turkey, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, for attracting FDI and joint ventures, a top
official said here today.
"The delegation comprising heads of leading textile
groups of India including Oswal, Alok, Arvind Mills, shall
explore the possibilities of joint ventures during their
visit," Singh told reporters.
"We are looking to bring a few foreign players in the
weaving sector through these joint ventures as we already have
JV in the spinning segment," Singh said.
The ministry has already shortlisted few companies in
Switzerland and Italy which are popular for their innovative
range of textile manufacturing machinery and textiles,
respectively, he added.
Referring to the growth of textile markets in India,
Singh said domestic textile industry is expected to grow
between 6 and 8 percent this year, largely due to surge in
domestic demand.
"The US retail market has improved by 2.2 percent in
August as compared to the sales in July, indicating that the
consumers in US have started purchasing. It is a good sign for
the Indian textile industry," Singh said.
The early sign of recovery in Indian textile markets was
witnessed in June, he added.
In first four months of this fiscal (April to July) there
has been positive production growth of 2.4 percent, as
compared to decline of 2 percent last year, Singh said.
Synthetic sector for the first time has shown an uptrend.
The industry in Surat is doing extremely well, he added.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, October 03, 2009, 23:43