New Delhi: Bharat Tex 2024, a global textile expo, held in New Delhi from 26-29 February 2024, showcased India’s textile prowess across its value chain, with an emphasis on sustainability and innovation. Organized by eleven Textile Export Promotion Councils and supported by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, the expo aimed to attract global buyers while showcasing India’s rich heritage and potential in the international market. It was an opportunity to showcase our strength in the textile sector across the entire value chain.
India presents a unique strength in the textile and apparel sector with the entire value chain from fiber to apparel. India is the second largest cotton producing country in the world after America. In addition, India produces all types of synthetic fibers including polyester, viscose, nylon and acrylic. Its technical textile segment is growing and is expected to expand to US$23.3 billion by 2027. Despite these inherent advantages, if we talk about RMG exports from India, it has been around US$ 15-17 billion for the last few years. The story is similar for other textile products; They are not able to increase exports and have strong branding.
We have had to suffer the brunt of weak branding in the foreign market. Therefore, Bharat Tex Expo 2024 paves the way for the realization of the real potential in textile trade. This will ensure India its rightful place in terms of branding and positioning which is long overdue. For so long we have not had any international fair that matches the global standard and scale. From Farm to Fashion, India showcased its strength in the textile sector through this fair.
The coming together of all export promotion councils and bodies for one goal i.e. promotion of textile exports from India is historic. This had not been imagined before. The first benefit is that it will address the issue of fragmentation of the entire value chain that has existed for centuries. Second, it showed the world the strength of its scale that India has the ability to meet high volume and quality orders.
We are in challenging times where supply chains are realigning themselves and options for better sourcing destinations are constantly being explored. We can certainly occupy some of the space left vacant by our competitor countries. Bharat Tex Expo 2024 is a big step in this direction. In this, India can showcase its strength in the entire textile value chain.
India Tex Expo 2024 provided a dynamic landscape of the textile industry, synergizing innovation, sustainability and global collaboration for growth. In today’s landscape of the textile industry, sustainability has emerged not only as a buzzword but also as a transformative force reshaping business strategies and consumer expectations. The textile industry, known for its complex supply chain from raw material production to manufacturing, is traditionally associated with significant environmental impacts that require immediate attention.
This event is more than just a buyer-seller meeting. It focuses on enhancing trade and investment with roundtables, panel discussions, knowledge sessions, pavilions showcasing digitalisation, technology interventions, start-ups, sustainability, circularity etc.
The impact of the global pandemic and closure of global retail chains and businesses saw this export value decline to US$12.22 million in 2020, which is now increasing, we have some encouraging trends in FTA markets like Mauritius and Australia. Are. We are also performing well in the Russian market. Moreover, non-traditional markets are showing a ray of hope in terms of export growth. However, textile exports have still not reached the expected export potential. As far as India’s position in the global market is concerned, we have been in the range of about 3% to about 3%. 4% share in world exports during the last several years. This is mainly due to stiff competition from global RMG players including China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, with Turkey as a new entrant.
Talking about the apparel sector, the major issues hindering the export competitiveness of Indian apparel are poor economies of scale, high labor attrition and absenteeism, access to raw materials, product mismatch, high market concentration, lack of cluster-based infrastructure. And there are logistics issues. We need to act quickly.
We are glad that the textile industry is continuously working towards more sustainable and ethical production processes, modern production technologies, traceability and circularity which has further enhanced the international branding of India’s textile products.
Increasing FDI to enhance economies of scale is very important for India’s export competitiveness in the RMG sector: Currently, the apparel industry receives very low levels of FDI investment, although 100% FDI in the textile sector under the automatic route. is allowed. Bringing investment into the textile sector to realize its full potential is another important focus of the Expo. Hence Bharat Tex 2024 focuses not only on B2B but also on increased investment in the textile value chain.
The four-day event will include exhibitions, knowledge sessions, thematic discussions, Government-to-Government (G2G) meetings, Business-to-Business (B2B) networks, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing, product launches, thematic and features. interactive pavilions, and various other activities. The event is designed to attract a range of stakeholders including top policymakers, global CEOs, international exhibitors and global buyers. International brands, suppliers, manufacturers, designers are participating in the show.
With dedicated pavilions on sustainability and recycling, thematic discussions on resilient global supply chains and digitalisation, interactive fabric testing areas, product demonstrations and master classes by artisans spanning over 3 generations of tradition and history, an art juxtaposition and inclusion of global brands. A marque program with. And for international designers, India TEX 2024 promises to be a truly unique experience for knowledge, business and networking
