India grants greater market access for Sri Lankan apparels

02 Apr '13

2 min read

The Government of India has removed the condition of sourcing of fabric from India for 5 million pieces, which would increase the total quota for duty free export of Sri Lankan apparels to India to 8 million pieces, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a statement.

The Indian Government’s notification allowing 8 million pieces of Sri Lankan garments to be exported duty-free to India follows a request made by the Government of Sri Lanka during the visit of India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry and Textiles Mr. Anand Sharma in August 2012.

In addition, under the revised South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) duty concessions for non-LDC countries, Sri Lankan textile and apparel exports to India would attract a duty of five percent, as against the earlier 11 percent. This is another step that will facilitate greater Sri Lankan exports of readymade garments to the Indian market, the statement said.

By providing greater market access to Sri Lankan readymade garments, the Government of India´s commitment to facilitating Sri Lankan exports and enhancing bilateral trade is clear, it added.

Since the coming into force of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Sri Lanka’s exports to India have substantially increased and registered US$ 720.89 million in 2011-12, according to statistics compiled by the Department of Commerce, Government of India.

For the period April-December 2012, Sri Lanka´s exports to India were US$ 528.76 million.

At the 8th India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting held in January this year, both countries had agreed to cooperate closely to forge closer economic and trade linkages and take steps to double the bilateral trade to reach US $ 10 billion in next three years.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India