Apparel exports to cross USD 20 billion next fiscal, says Textiles Secretary

The demand continues to be robust and the textiles industry should be efficient and integrated, said Upendra Prasad Singh, speaking at a virtual programme of the Apparel Export Promotion Council on Tuesday

India should be in a position to cross USD 20 billion in apparel exports by the next fiscal (2022-2023) or the year after that, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Textiles, Upendra Prasad Singh said.

Demand continues to be robust, and the China plus one sourcing strategy by the West is certainly a great opportunity for the Indian textile industry, Mr. Singh said. The industry should be efficient and integrated, increase scales and tap these opportunities, he said, while speaking at the Foundation Day virtual programme of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on Tuesday.

“Apparel and garmenting are not very investment centric. But they are important from an employment point of view. Perhaps, there is a need for backward integration and more of you can get into integrated value-chain like spinning and weaving,” he said. Mr. Singh urged the industry to focus on vertical integration and scale so that they could benefit from the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the textile sector.

The government is committed to making the PLI scheme and the Prime Minister Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) schemes a success. The idea is not to just have world-class infrastructure but also to have a thriving industry there, he said.

 The country’s total textile exports can increase from the current USD 40 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years, he said.