Textiles will be one of India’s top priority areas in the free-trade agreements (FTAs) being negotiated with more than a dozen countries, says NarendraGoenka, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). These FTAs can offer a great opportunity for growth, and the government is pushing hard for it. AEPC has also made a case for apparel to be included in the ‘early harvest’ of the FTAs. The commerce ministry is pushing for apparel exports, he adds.
Goenka opines, high raw material prices have been a major challenge for the apparel industry. Quoting government data, he adds, the sharp rise in cotton prices has resulted in 97-month high inflation of 8.84 per cent for clothing and footwear products.. Customers adjusted to the rising prices uptoa certain point, but now prices are out of control. They were seen resisting the price rise during the upcoming spring season sales of 2023.
