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The conference, held on Wednesday, discussed strategy and planning for the industry in the next decade. Fibre2Fashion was the Knowledge Partner of the event.
The tenth edition of the Asian Textile Conference (ATEXCON) organised by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) brought together the Indian textile industry. In his address, Union textile minister Piyush Goyal said that India can achieve $1 trillion export target in 5-6 years if it focuses on the 5-point mission set by him at the conference.
Minister Goyal said that the industry should come into mission mode and focus on five points—innovation, sustainability, digitisation, newer products, and utilisation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). If the industry focuses on this suggestion, it can grow quickly. He said that the industry has the ability to achieve the export target of $100 billion.
The minister said that it was nice to see the industry discuss innovation for productivity and expansion. The industry can optimise its resources for demand by innovating its system. Goyal also appreciated futuristic approach of the conference. He said that the industry is working along the lines of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Earlier, state textile minister Darshana Jardosh, textile secretary Upendra Prasad Singh and industry veterans and experts also addressed the conference in theme and technical sessions. Darshana Jardosh urged Indian textile industry to prepare itself to face the challenges of structural shift in the global textile market.
The minister reminded the industry that recently the US imposed a ban on Chinese cotton originating from Xinjiang region which can increase cotton prices in the international market. Indian industry needs to prepare itself to face the problem of costlier raw materials. Depreciation of Asian currencies including Indian currency has intensified competition between textile exporting countries. Indian textile exporters will have to develop the capacity to face stiff competition. The state minister said in theme session that Indian industry will not only have to face current challenges but also need to prepare itself for the next decade.
Textile secretary Upendra Prasad Singh said in the theme session that every industry and sector in India must play a role to achieve the target of becoming a developed nation in the next 25 years as per the vision of the Prime Minister. He said that the Indian textile industry has the strength to expand in the global market as it has a complete value chain. However, the industry needs to identify its weaknesses and remove them as early as possible. He emphasised on better quality of the products to strengthen position in global market.
He said that the industry is demanding raw material security which is an important area to be addressed. The government is working to increase cotton production and quality. But man-made fibre is important to ensure raw material supplies. He asked industry representatives to focus on sustainability of the value chain. Many products can be produced by blending recycled fibre which is more cost effective and sustainable.
In the inaugural session, T. Rajkumar, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) said that the textile and apparel sector are a significant contributor to the economic growth of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, generating employment and fetching export revenue. To further scale up textile and apparel production, manufacturers in these countries, especially India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, need to invest in innovation and research and development (R&D). At the same time, there is a need for Asian countries to truly differentiate themselves from global consumers. He also said that in view of the impending FTAs, it is time for the industry to work together with the government to finalise the product baskets that India can export to get better trade terms, and thus benefit the entire textile value chain.
Earlier, in his opening note at the theme session, CITI chairman said that the global textile industry is witnessing a reshuffle of the entire supply chain including the countries from which apparel is sourced. Terms like China Plus One, re-shoring, onshoring, etc are being commonly heard in interactions across the textile value chain.
The conference also held detailed discussions on various aspects at the technical sessions. First such session was focused on rebuilding India’s textile and apparel industry. The second session discussed the changing trends in the Asian textile and apparel trade. Another session on India’s trade agreements with major economies was discussed by the experts, while the last session discussed scaling up cleaner production with sustainable textile solutions.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
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