The Indian industry should take advantage of the huge $20-billion space vacated in the global apparel market by China, which is facing a tough time due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to textiles secretary Ravi Capoor, who recently said domestic textile exports have plateaued during the past five to seven years, which is a worrying sign.
Addressing a symposium on emerging opportunities for Indian textiles, Capoor said though India stands with China with all its emotions and financial, political and diplomatic help, but the big economic opportunity coming up its way should not be ignored.
This is the perfect time to bring the industry together and have a small dialogue to see how the industry associations are prepared for this opportunity, he was quoted as saying by a news agency.
Around $20 billion worth of apparel space, mostly in the man-made fibre, was vacated by China in the past three years and that was taken away by Vietnam, he said.
If duty inversion is removed, man-made fibre itself becomes a huge opportunity, he said.
The domestic textile and apparel industry, including handicrafts, stood at $140 billion in 2018, of which $100 billion was domestically consumed, while the remaining portion worth $40 billion was exported to the world market.
