![Indian Textile Sector should focus on Ready-To-Cut Fabric ecosystem for growth, says ITF](https://apparelresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Indian-Textile-Sector-should-focus-on-Ready-To-Cut-Fabric-ecosystem-for-growth-says-ITF-1.jpg)
Prabhu Dhamodharan the Convenor of the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) opined on how the Indian textile sector can grow in the future. He is of the opinion that ready-to-cut-fabric is the way to build resilience and competitiveness.
India exported textiles valued at US $ 3.8 billion in FY 23–24. This covers textiles made of cotton, synthetic, and cellulosic fibres.
By contrast, China has become the world’s largest supplier of ready-to-cut fabric, meeting the demands of numerous countries that produce clothing through the export of fabric valued at close to US $ 100 billion. Clothing manufacturers used to purchase ready-to-cut fabric and concentrate only on producing clothing.
He said, “With strong fundamentals, Indian Textile Industry particularly the Spinning and Weaving sector companies need to focus on this ecosystem to manage the volatility in raw materials and also improve margins. We witnessed a margin expansion for the companies taking effort in this direction. “
In the previous three years, the Indian textile industry has invested and imported over Rs. 26,000 crore through the installation of sophisticated knitting machines and automated weaving systems.
Auto-looms worth Rs. 16,000 crore have been imported into the nation throughout the last three fiscal years. This equipment are imported at a cost of Rs. 8,200 crore from China, Rs. 3,300 crore from Japan, Rs. 2,000 crore from Belgium and Rs. 900 crore from Italy.
The Indian textile industry is benefiting from these investments in terms of increased production, improved quality, and increased capacity to provide a wide range of fabrics at competitive costs.
“For the past few months, we are witnessing continuous thrust from the US, European and Japanese buyers to develop alternate sourcing destinations. Also, our companies are receiving new variety of fabric samples in cotton blends with sizeable enquiries. We believe that China Plus One is a 10 year opportunity for Indian textile sector. Therefore, the recent surge in investments in Automatic Weaving, Knitting and Processing capabilities will help us to focus on a ready to cut processed fabric ecosystem,” he added.
He asked the Federal and State Governments to provide appropriate regulations that will encourage businesses to invest in this kind of infrastructure and facilitate their entry into the global market.
Additionally, he stated that the greatest approaches to boost the Indian textile sector’s exports and generate thousands of new jobs for the workforce are modernization, high-quality products, competitiveness, and product and market diversification strategies.