Ministry of Textiles (MoT), Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and other Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) of the textile industry of India are doing their best to make the upcoming mega textile event ‘Textiles India 2017’ along with Textile India Conclave in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from June 30 to July 2, 2017, a successful affair. Even Pushpa Subrahmanyam, Additional Secretary, MoT along with three other senior officials of the textile industry went to China for a roadshow to promote this event. It is being said that the major objective of the conference is to develop a clear and comprehensive policy and frame an action plan, and 10 years roadmap for the textile and apparel sector’s growth.
Apparel Resources talked to some of the Indian exporters who were regularly participating in India International Garment Fair (IIGF) and are now thinking to be part of Textile India 2017 also as this time IIGF is being merged with this event. Given below are the five strong opinions of the exporters:
1. May shift Indian exporters towards Hong Kong Fashion Week
Satish Kumar Thukral, Director of Kichwamaji Exporters, New Delhi says, “I feel that this event will affect the buyers count decidedly, because for most buyers, reaching Delhi is a much easier option compared to Gandhinagar, especially for the buyers of Third World countries like Uruguay, Brazil, etc., and the same is for Indian exporters (exhibitors). It will indeed be a matter of concern for them to reach Gandhinagar. I think it will fascinate some Indian exporters to participate in Hong Kong Fashion Week which is just a week away from this Indian event. However, we are going to take part in this fair as we participate in India only.”
2. Exporters are enthusiastic too
Vivek Khandelwal, Director, Patterns India, Jaipur avers, “This is the first time that the show is happening in Gujarat, and we are very hopeful about its productive outcomes. We are in Jaipur, so we have to move either to Delhi or Gujarat to attend the event. So this is not something which is bothering us anyway. Besides, AEPC has assured us about the buyers count in a positive manner.”
3. Exporters are not participating
Ravindran, General Manager, Saravana Garments, Tirupur mentions, “We are very much surprised with the decision and this will be a huge setback for the IIGF. Delhi is a central place for the overseas buyers and interstate exporters to reach. Hence, overall footfall will be affected definitely in terms of buyers and also exhibitors. It won’t be possible for our company to participate in Textile India 2017.
Also Read – 59th IIGF shifts base; to be held as part of Textiles India ’17 in Gujarat
4. ‘Political’ angel is there
Kapil Sadh, Partner, SK Overseas, Greater Noida believes, “This decision is neither good for us nor for the industry. Shifting the fair from Delhi to Gandhinagar is something which I can say is directly associated with politics, and decision makers should also think about industry’s profit rather than thinking of only about any specific state.”
5. Exporters based in Gujarat are positive
Sandeep Bhojani, Director, Krypthm Tradelink LLP, Surat states, “This time, we can perform far better in terms of attending more buyers, having sufficient amount of time for preparations and further displaying more product lines with much ease. Earlier, we had to move our collection and team from Surat to Delhi which was like a hurdle and time taking too.”
