Textile exports will grow 300%: Vaghela

Exports will be worth Rs 75,000 crore annually over the next one year

Indian textile exports are set to grow over 300 per cent in the next one year after dismantling of the quota regime, Union textile minister Shankarsinh Vaghela said.

At present, Indian textile exports are pegged at around Rs 25,000 crore annually. It is all set to grow to over Rs 75,000 crore annually in the next one year.

"We are all ready to face post-WTO challenges. The government is at present studying various problems faced by the textile industry in the country. Gujarat contributes significantly to the textile exports of the country and will play a crucial role in the post-quota regime," Vaghela said on Saturday.

Gujarat, which accounts for around 25 per cent of the total textile exports of the country, will be the worst hit by the Chinese competition, since over 90 per cent of the textile manufacturers in the state are fragmented and unorganised, Vaghela said.

With the dismantling of the quota regime at the end of this year, there would be a thrust on textile exports and the state will face new challenges from 2005 onwards, when the rules and regulations of the WTO will become effective and competition will increase in the international textile market, Vaghela said.

"After 50 years of protection, the market will suddenly become open and quotas will not imply assured business. Market shares will have to be gained by competing internationally. A survey of international buyers reveals that India will be considered as the second best destination in the textile sector at the international level. All the small and unorganised textile manufacturers should work in clusters to compete with China and face the international challenge," said Vaghela.

Though Gujarat accounts for around 25 per cent of the total textiles exports in the country, less than 10 per cent of the exports are directly through Gujarat. The remaining are channelled through other Indian states.

Gujarat is one of the largest cotton producer in the country, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, but over 80 per cent of the cotton produced in the state goes to other states for value addition, Vaghela said.