The Way Forward
Diversification of Market The dominance of a few countries in our export
basket has made us vulnerable to economic shocks in these countries.
Diversifying to emerging economies in the Far East as also revive our markets
in Japan, Australia and LAC would not only protect us from such external shocks
but also take our growth rates to higher trajectories.
Brand Promotion the apparel trade is presently buyer
driven which does not give much flexibility to the exporters in terms of price
fixation or product segmentation. Building a "Brand India Fund" has to be
mooted for better value realization and better positioning of the Indian
products in global markets.
Also create on overall marketing strategy whereby road shows,
buyer seller meets and delegations have to be made more Country/Region Specific
or Product focused in tandem with a duly evaluated target.
Technology Mission for Knitwear industry - This industry has been the driving force behind India's apparel growth story in the last few years but is still perceived as a low value segment as India's presence is still largely in the low end categories. The knitwear industry needs to
be put on Mission Mode to develop new blends and technology and enhance
productivity and value realizations in this sector.
Integration of fabric base - A poor fabric base has to be countered by
improving its supplies, domestically as also through imports. Imports of fabric
has to be facilitated through liberal exim and input-output norms.
Tapping the domestic market We are fast loosing the domestic
market to cheaper imports, specially facilitated by the new FTAs. With
shrinking export growth, additional capacities build in the garment sector can
be sustained by catering to the fast growing domestic market.
Labour laws - Issues like restrictions on contract labour, fixed time
employment, employment of women in night shift, retrenchment, closure of loss
making units, etc. needed to be addressed immediately. Labour laws should be
amended keeping in view the seasonal nature of this industry. If laws cannot be
changed across the board then apparel export industry's case may be taken on
priority basis.
Larger Investment - Large scale capital investment to be encouraged
through fiscal policies. Schemes like TUFS, cluster programmes and SITP should
be availed by the industry in large scales, especially with the renewed
budgetary focus on these schemes.
Improving Productivity - Productivity improvement through training processes
is being done by the various ATDC centres of AEPC. The process needs to be fast
tracked and new technologies inducted at this stage to ensure technological
upgradation of the entire industry.
Policy support Although the industry has been
receiving attention of the policy makers, there is still a huge gap in the
policy support available to this industry in some of our competing countries
which has lead to stead loss of market share to these countries. Hence, refund
of state duties, access to credit at cheaper rates and better terms, moratorium
on loans, etc have been some of the recommendations of AEPC.
Tackling the rupee Although the strengthening of the rupee is a fallout
of a typical capital market conditions, the policy makers cannot leave it
entirely to the market. While China's US$ 100 bn worth of dollar inflows
hasn't thrown the economy out of control, why is India is finding it hard to
manage US$ 18 bn worth of inflows? More importantly, these inflows are a result
of incentives and tax benefits, the desirability of which needs a relook now.
There should be proactive approach on the part of the Government, SEBI and RBI
to calibrate the in flow of foreign exchange, which makes rupee stronger day by
day.
Sunset to sunrise to....?
The garment industry has seen many ups and downs. From being
termed the sunset industry, the whole textile chain saw remarkable growth
during 2004 to 2006. However 2007 saw the industry loose precious share to
smaller economies. Bangladesh surpassed India's apparel exports, China increased its share and Vietnam started biting into India's global market. But the industry
has survived in the past and will sure find ways to do the same now. Although
the budget this year has not enhanced policy support to the extent desired,
extension of schemes like TUFS, SITP and cluster development programmes may
infuse more funds for modernizations, marketing and brand building. More
importantly, I am confident that the inherent resilience of this sector will
show innovative answers to the question of Way Forward.
About the Author:
The author is the Chairman of AEPC.
To read more articles on Textile, Industry, Technical Textile, Dyes & Chemicals, Machinery, Fashion, Apparel, Technology, Retail, Leather, Footwear & Jewellery, Software and General please visit: http://articles.fibre2fashion.com
To promote your company, product and services via promotional article, follow this link: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/services/article-writing-service/content-promotion-services.asp
Free Download
