Representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda recently participated in a seminar in Tirupur in India’s Tamil Nadu State to discuss increasing investments from the zone in textile and garmenting sector in their countries. The seminar was organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA).
The seminar was conducted under the banner of ‘Supporting Indian Trade and Investment for Africa’ (SITA) project, implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva. Four knitwear companies from Tirupur have already started their factories in Ethiopia in the last one-and-half-years.
The African delegates later met the owners of spinning mills affiliated to the Southern Indian Mills Association (SIMA) in Coimbatore, according to a report in a top Indian English-language daily. According to TEA President Raja M Shanmugham, policies of those African Governments are flexible in providing infrastructure and agricultural land to Indian companies and the labour cost is much lower as well.
