Exports may fuel apparel mart

The country's apparel exports may rise in the coming months, owing to a likely surge in overseas orders in the last two quarters (October 2007-March 2008) of the financial year.

According to Vijay Agarwal, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the second half of a financial year normally witnesses double exports compared with the first half due to summer and spring seasons in the overseas markets.

The US, the European Union and west Asia account for more than 85 per cent of the apparel exports market.

The government has set a target of $10 billion of garment exports in FY08. However, industry experts believe that meeting the target will not be easy. In 2006-07, India exported apparel worth $8.2 billion, which is slightly ahead of Bangladesh's $7.9 billion.

Stressing the need to diversify into different regions, Agarwal said, "Latin America, with a focus on Brazil, the Far East and eastern Europe, with Russia as a major market, are the potential overseas markets." According to him, there is a huge scope for three product categories in these new markets "" innerwear, outerwear, mainly jackets and formals.

He urged the government to provide proper attention to the garment sector as it was the main growth engine of the textile industry. The other sectors, including spinning and weaving, would also improve subsequently, he added.

The domestic apparel sector requires an investment of around Rs 35,000 crore to push exports to $25 billion by 2012. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is going to play an important factor. Referring to the recent deal between Gokaldas and Blackstone, Agarwal said it was an important development for the industry and expressed hope that more such investments would flow in.