India’s textile clusters getting enquiries from global brands amid B’desh crisis
Indian exporting firms, particularly in the Tirupur clusters, are receiving higher enquiries from several global apparel brands, including Primark, Tesco, Decathlon, Duns, JCPenney, GAP, Next and Walmart, amid the ongoing economic and political tensions in Bangladesh, with order conversion expected for shipment by early 2025, said Mr Mithileshwar Thakur, Secretary General of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), recently. With foreign exchange reserves sufficient to cover only four to five months of imports, Bangladesh has faced challenges in importing cotton and fabric, which it traditionally sources from India. Capturing just 10% of Bangladesh’s global apparel exports could directly create 5,00,000 jobs and indirectly generate an additional 1 million jobs in the Indian apparel sector. To seize the opportunity presented by this development, India needs to urgently address issues related to capacity augmentation and skill development, said a report.
Source: Exim News Service: New Delhi, Jan. 16