Dear Friends,

The Indian textiles sector is hoping to witness improvements in the second half of the financial year, with reports of falling global inventory levels and rising consumption levels. With the festival season just a few months away and marked improvements in export inquiries in the finished goods segment, the industry is gearing up to improve market share in key export destinations.

Trade Data

According to the data (quick estimates) released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, exports of cotton/yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products etc. from India grew by 6.62% in July 2023 over July 2022. The month-on-month exports registered in this category have entered the positive territory after a lack luster performance for almost 6 months Apr-Jun’23 in the new FY 2024.

Share of T&A has increased to 8.69% in July’23 from 8.02% in July’22. However, data on exports during Apr-July’23 shows that Indian textile exports have degrown by (-) 10.54% over the previous year while Apparel exports registered degrowth of (-) 17.64% during the same period.

Meeting with the Parliamentary Committee

The Lok Sabha Committee on Government Assurances (2022-2023) visited Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru and Goa from 23rd to 28th August, 2023. During this study visit, on 24th August 2023 a meeting was scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram for discussion with the representatives of the Ministry of Textiles, CCI and TEXPROCIL regarding cotton value chain initiatives as per assurance given under PQ 2418 during Lok Sabha Session 2022.

Accordingly, I along with the Council’s Executive Director, Smt. Prajakta Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles and Shri Lalit Gupta, Chairman, Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) attended the meeting and briefed the Committee regarding the various initiatives undertaken with regard to the ‘Kasturi Cotton India’ program. The Parliamentary Committee was assured that the joint initiative of the Government and the industry to Brand Indian Cotton will enhance international perception and valuation of Indian cotton, also fetching higher price and better remuneration for farmers in the cotton value chain.

Yarn Expo & Intertextile, Shanghai, China

Although export is facing increasingly fierce competition, the fairs in China made a comeback after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The Council along with 50 member companies participated in the Yarn Expo and Intertextile Fabric Fairs – autumn edition 2023, held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai, China from August 28–30, 2023.

Physical exhibitions create valuable opportunities to meet customers in person and select raw materials through “touch” which was not possible at online fairs during the pandemic period. Yarn Expo 2023 provided Indian companies the opportunity to showcase their latest collection of natural and blended yarns including cotton, wool, flax/regenerated flax, and man-made fibres and yarns, as well as specialty products including elastic, fancy, and blended yarns at the event. Similarly, Intertextile Shanghai also provided the opportunity to obtain new customers and orders, and maintain relationships with old customers as well.

The participation in these fairs reflected the continued strong growth of the Chinese economy, the huge volume of imports and exports, and the continued importance of China as the world’s largest textile sourcing market.

Seventh TAG Meeting on Cotton

The Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal presided over the seventh meeting of the Textile Advisory Group (TAG) on Cotton, on 31st August, 2023 in Coimbatore to review the progress of various initiatives relating to the cotton sector.

The progress of the project on Traceability, Certification and Branding of Kasturi Cotton India was also discussed. During the meeting, Shri Kulin Lalbhai, Chairman, Kasturi Branding Task Force made a presentation on the Branding aspects while the Council’s Vice Chairman Shri Vijaykumar Agarwal, updated on the initiatives planned for Traceability and Certification.

The Indian brand of cotton viz. Kasturi India cotton will be launched internationally and will help in placing the Indian cotton textile products on the global map. The Council’s Executive Director made a presentation on the progress report on ‘Kasturi Cotton India’ program and informed about the preparedness to launch the project at the commencement of the new cotton season. The Hon’ble Union Minister appreciated the efforts being made to promote Kasturi cotton.

ATEXCON in Coimbatore

The 11th edition of the Asian Textile Conference (ATEXCON) was formally inaugurated on the evening of 31st August 2023 at the hands of Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution. The grand event was attended by a Galaxy of State Ministers from Government of Tamil Nadu along with Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, along with Senior Officials from the Union Ministry of Textiles.

The ATEXCON organised by Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) under the theme of “2025 & Beyond Asia’s Global Hub for Textile Manufacturing & Consumers”, was held on 31st August and 1st September in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. As one of the association partners, the Council supported this event and participated in the various proceedings in the conference.

The Council’s Vice Chairman Shri Vijaykumar Agarwal, participated in the Theme Session Presided by Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, along with Smt. Prajakta Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles as the Guest of Honor. He was also a panellist in the session titles ‘Enabling resilient Textile & Apparel Supply Chain’ held on Day 1 – 31st August. During the session, the panellist discussed the steps needed to be taken for India to emerge as a global textile manufacturing and sourcing hub.

The Council’s Executive Director moderated the session on ‘Trends, Developments and innovations in Home Textiles’. During the session, Shri G Kannapan, CMD, Sharadha Terry Products shared his expert views on the way forward for Indian Home Textiles to capture a larger market share across the world markets.  

Way forward

Friends, the Government has envisioned achieving 100 billion in exports by 2030. There is a growing confidence that the Indian textile industry has all the potential to become the world’s largest textile hub. The Government is leaving no stone unturned in supporting the industry to grow exports by organising exporters’ consultations and addressing their grievances. For instance, on insistence by the stakeholders, the Government has extended the Quality Control Order on cotton bales for an additional year.

The Government and Industry have come together and announced organising a Mega Textile Show from 26th to 29th February 2024 concurrently at 3 venues i.e. ITPO, Pragati Maidan, IICC Dwarka and the IEML, Greater Noida, New Delhi.

Friends, I am sure, Mega Textiles Fair will offer the opportunity to showcase our strength, as the “World comes to India’s doorsteps”.

I earnestly appeal to all our members to respond to the Council’s Circular issued on 5th September 2023 inviting participation in the Mega Textile Fair and participate in large numbers.

On its part, the Council has also prepared a Vision Document 2030 for the Cotton Textiles Sector. In our view, along with a conducive policy environment, the industry needs to work with a spirit of duty and register a consistent 10% year-on-year growth to achieve the export level targeted by 2030. A collective resolve can certainly help the industry to set itself on the path of growth.



:: TEXPROCIL ::