The Indian textile Industry has the potential to achieve $100 bn in exports by 2030, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Textiles Piyush Goyal has said. He added that Indian textile exports to Australia and UAE would now face zero duty and expressed confidence that soon Europe, Canada, UK and GCC countries would also welcome Indian textile exports at zero duty.
The new Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreements with Australia and UAE would open infinite opportunities for textiles, handloom, footwear etc, said Minister Goyal while delivering the keynote address at an event in New Delhi. The Minister mentioned that trade agreements would help in increasing exports from labour intensive industries.
Pointing out that the world today was looking for alternative manufacturing sourcing hubs owing to geopolitical reasons; the Minister said that Indian textile industry is in a very sweet spot to grab this opportunity.
It may be noted that Indian textile sector accounts for about 10 percent (approximately $43 bn) of India’s total merchandise exports. India is the largest producer of cotton with 23 percent of global production, sustaining 65 lakh people directly and indirectly, Goyal said.
Listing the various interventions made by government for enhancing the productivity of cotton such as High-Density Planting System (HDPS), Drip Irrigation, rainwater harvesting, inter-cropping etc, the minister said that we must place greater focus on special varieties of cotton such as the Kasturi cotton.
Goyal also asked textiles and apparel industry to focus on sustainability and farmers to focus on natural methods of farming. He said that we must encourage innovation, research and development and asked farmers to work in collaboration with ICAR, Agri-Universities, IARI and Cotton Research Institutes.
Minister Goyal said this at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the ‘Confederation of Indian Textile Industry- Cotton Development and Research Association’ (CITI- CDRA) in New Delhi.
