ITF urges textiles ministry to organise engagement events

In fiscal 2018-19, India’s textile and garment imports from Bangladesh increased by 53 per cent year-on-year to $1.07 billion (₹7,500 crore). If the products were not imported and produced domestically, the ₹7,500 crore business would have created 1.5 lakh job opportunities within the country, the Coimbatore-based organisation said in a letter sent to textiles minister Smriti Irani.

As per ITF analysis, based on the data sourced form DGCI&S, cotton based readymade garments falling under HS codes 62034200, 62052000, 62046200, and 61091000 are the top four imported items.

“After witnessing a big jump in cotton-based textile product imports, now synthetic-based textile product imports are also catching up with a much faster growth rate. These products (both cotton and synthetic-based textile products) are commonly manufactured in textile clusters like Tiruppur, Chennai, Surat and Ichalkaranji,” the letter said.

The letter also mentions that job creation and lower level of participation of women in the workforce are the twin challenges faced by the country. “By developing textile manufacturing sector, we can address these two challenges. For example, ₹500 crore investment in a heavy engineering factory can create 1,000 to 1,500 jobs; whereas textile and apparel sector can create 40,000 jobs for the same investment.”

As a starting point, ITF convenor Prabhu Dhamodharan requested the newly formed Narendra Modi-led NDA government and the textiles ministry to facilitate a meeting with the brands and domestic manufacturers so that all clusters can benefit. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India