Raw material price increase – The latest storm to have hit the apparel industry.

From last September onwards, be it domestic or international, buyers have started regaining the business momentum due to the fact that the consumers begun their buying as they got little leverage from the pandemic. However, raw material price increase and steep rise in prices of yarns are creating significant challenges for the apparel and textile industry. Strange but true Do we remember when was the last time that our industry did not face any challenge? I am sure most of you would vouch for my views that textile/apparel industry always have had some or the other disruptions like pandemic, labour, dyes and chemicals, power, wages, compliance, law, etc. This is an exhaustive list which makes us unsettled for any upcoming progress. However, our industry has the history and reputation of overcoming each of these challenges and rise victorious each time.

Glimpse of sunshine after some time From last September onwards, be it domestic or international, buyers have started regaining the business momentum due to the fact the consumers begun their buying as they got little leverage from the pandemic. The apparel business got further support from a series of festivals being lined up. Due to this fact, the inventory levels of every buyer and fashion retailer started coming down and they started lifting the goods gradually from the vendors which were kept in hold in various stages of WIP (work in progress).

Apparel industry also started receiving new orders and everyone was positive with the market scenario.

Opportunity As a country, we are still waiting for a market shift from China, whereas they have changed their market focus to technological and R&D development. They are catching up with the market in Europe, not in India. We aim to grab the Chinese cotton market which they are willing to give away and they are not focusing on spindle expansion. They are growing faster than usual on technology and not on production. We are 6 per cent of world textile export whereas China is 33 per cent in textile export. With this, we can understand what potential gain we can get if we grab this opportunity of cotton market.