Textiles, apparel exports likely to touch $50 bn in FY17

Helped by the government's special package and marketing plans, India's textiles and apparel exports are expected to touch USD 50 billion mark this fiscal from USD 38 billion in FY16, a senior official said today.
The Union Cabinet last week approved a Rs 6,000-crore package for the sector with an aim to create one crore new jobs in three years and attract investments of USD 11 billion while eyeing additional USD 30 billion in exports.
"The government has announced a special package and taking elaborate marketing plans to boost exports. We are hopeful of achieving USD 50 billion in exports in the current fiscal as compared to USD 38 billion exports last year," Textile Secretary Rashmi Verma told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of industry body Texprocil here.

"We are hopeful that our key markets like Europe and US will continue to grow. We are also looking at exploring new markets such as Iran, Russia and South America to expand reach and diversify products. With the opening of new markets, we are hopeful to achieve our export targets."
She said the country is ready to capitalise on falling share of China in textile exports in the international market.
The nation's market share has slipped to 38 per cent from 40 per cent due to high wage rate and its entry into high-end tech products.

Commenting on Britain's exit from the EU, Verma said, "We export USD 10 billion worth of textiles and apparels to European Union of which nearly 23 per cent (USD 2.5 billion) goes to Britain."

"Now we are focusing on entering into PTA (preferential trade agreement) with Britain and it is right time to negotiate its terms."
The draft of new textile policy is ready and the package announced last week was a part of it. The policy will go to the Cabinet next month for approval, she added.
Meanwhile, The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) today released an Ernst & Young report titled 'Textile industry as a vehicle of job creation for inclusive growth'.
Texprocil Chairman R K Dalmia said it is important to finalise FTAs (free trade agreements) with EU, Australia and Canada in addition to negotiating concessional tariff with China to protect domestic suppliers.

The report highlighted the employment potential of the textile sector, especially in rural India. The labour- intensive home textiles segment suffers from tariff disadvantages of 9.6 to 16 per cent in markets like EU and Canada.