Business

FICCI-Wazir Report: Investment in Man Made Textile Fiber is an Attractive Proposition

FICCI organized its 7th annual conference on textile and apparel industry ‘TAG 2015’ on the theme‘Beyond cotton: Developing Excellence in MMF based textiles’ on 28th October, 2015 at Mumbai. Shri VijaykumarDeshmukh, Minister of State for Textile, PWD (Public Undertaking), Transport, Labour, Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries, Government of Maharashtra inaugurated FICCI TAG 2015.In his inaugural speech he said that for the development of the textile industry in the state, Maharashtra state government is working on new textile policies and developing and promoting various textiles park to strengthen textile clusters. He also mentioned that investment in MMF based textile is a huge opportunity. The guest of honour, Dr. Kavita Gupta, Textile Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles stressed upon the need for R&D in the textile and apparel industry, which needs to be addressed collectively and in time bound manner. Dr. Gupta also mentioned that the government is also focusing on skill development and the industry, should come forward to work hand in hand with the government on this area. She also informed that Govt. of India will open textile commissioner’s office in each state in India, which will help the industry to interact with the ministry on a regular basis.

R D Udeshi, President (Polyester Chain), Reliance Industries Ltd in his special address said that the growth of manmade textiles is playing an important role in the textile industry. He said, since the government is aiming to grow the size of the Indian Textile & Apparel industry from USD 110 billion to USD 400 billion, the input for such size from Man Made Fiber will also multiply and hence immediate attention is to be given on its development as cotton only may not be able to fulfill that demand. Manoj Patodia, Member, FICCI, in his welcome speech outlined that the share of polyester fiber in Textile and Apparel industry has gradually increased in the recent years, rising from 34% in 2000 to 38% in 2014. This pattern is expected to remain in growth phase as an alternate to cotton. He also mentioned that FICCI has already sent its representation to Government of India for promoting consumption of man-made fibers to reduce the huge gap between man-made fibers and cotton. Prashant Agarwal, Jt. Managing Director, Wazir Advisors in his theme presentation highlighted that Investment in Manmade Fiber based textile value chain will help in successfully implementing ‘Make In India’ initiative for the Textile sector. This will help reducing dependability on MMF based fabric imports worth USD 1.2 Billion and make India a self-sufficient country in MMF based textiles. He also mentioned that out of total global trade of MMF based apparel, which is currently pegged at USD 170 Billion India, has a very low share of 2.2%. This present a great opportunity to increase the share of Indian MMF and textile and apparel industry should work together to increase it further.