The International Sourcing Expo inaugurated recently in Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Melbourne Australia. AEPC participated with the biggest delegation of 50 exporters with 52 booths in the expo.
The India Pavilion inaugurated by Consulate General of India, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Dr. Sushil Kumar along with Chairman AEPC, Naren Goenka, Vice Chairman AEPC Sudhir Sekhri, FIEO President Dr A Sakthivel & Rakesh Vaid, Vice Chairman ATDC. The fair was inaugurated in the presence of exhibitors and buyers. Dr. Sushil Kumar appreciated the efforts of AEPC for actively promoting the expo & for encouraging Indian apparel manufacturers & exporters to explore the Australian market.
Speaking at the inauguration, Chairman AEPC said, “International Sourcing Expo is a great platform for the Indian garment exporter. We aim to showcase the best of India’s apparel designs and styles in line with the latest fashion trends in a wide range of traditional cotton and MMF garments as well as unique products including organic, sustainable products during the expo.”
“We are focusing on growing our strategic export partnerships with emerging markets of Australia, New Zealand and other island countries in the Oceanic region. Australia has traditionally been the topmost trading partner for Indian garment with our exports occupying a share of approx. 4 percent of total Australian garment imports,” Chairman AEPC added.
Further Goenka stated, “We foresee a stronger presence in the Australian market appreciating the recently concluded Indo-Australia ECTA agreement which would extend duty free access to Indian RMG exports. The FTA would open huge business opportunities for Australian clothing brands to source from India considering the strengths of the Indian garment industry in terms of variety of raw material availability right from cotton, jute, silk, viscose, nylon, acrylic with abundant in- house production.”
Further, Goenka highlighted, with total garment imports of $7.39 bn against India’s exports of $0.29 bn, the strong Indian garment industry with its unique offerings has a huge scope for Australian companies to source from India. We are supported by the world’s second largest spinning and weaving capacity, giving the industry an opportunity for a 95 percent domestic value addition, India offers to the world a complete value chain solution from farm to fashion giving us a competitive edge by shortened lead times to reach our buyers.
Chairman AEPC also informed, the Indian apparel industry has now moved on to diversifying itself into newer areas of MMF garments with a technical textiles segment worth $16 bn approx. with 6 percent of the global market.
Goenka emphasized, the Brand India products are sustainable and meet all social and environmental compliances, as per Australian import standards on sustainability, circularity, ethical sourcing and manufacturing, labor standards, women employment with no child labor.
India is the largest producer of cotton, Silk and Jute and second largest producer of technical textiles and viscose. India also produces all types of synthetic fibres, polyester, nylon and acrylic. When the global cotton production is falling, India’s cotton production has increased. Additionally, India doesn’t import any cotton from anywhere in the world.
