Covid-19 has prompted Japanese companies to diversify their supply chain and the Indian textile sector has the potential to serve the sector-specific need, said Ambassador of India to Japan Sanjay Kumar Verma on Friday.
He said this while inaugurating the 7th edition of India Tex Trend Fair (ITTF), a physical-cum-virtual fair, at Tokyo (Japan) on Thursday, Ambassador Verma said that China continues to be the main supplier of textiles to Japan along with Italy, Vietnam, South Korea and United States.
“Covid-19 pandemic has brought up the necessity for diversifying the supply chains and therefore Japanese companies also plan to reduce their dependence on any particular geography. Although India’s share in Japanese market is negligible, in the textile sector there’s a good potential for increasing bilateral textile trade between the two,” said the Indian ambassador in Tokyo.
The Ambassador said that India is recognized as one of the best sourcing destinations for garments, textiles, accessories and finished products. Manufacturers are ready to innovate, be flexible on quantities and have a hands-on approach to quality control.
“India can provide a more resilient supply value chain to Japan as India has comparative advantage in the textile sector in terms of low cost production and traditional knowledge in the sector,” Verma said, adding that the Indian exporters will have to address some issues like productivity and prices.
The Indian envoy also announced that India and Japan are inching closer to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Textile Committee in the Indian Ministry of Textiles and Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan, for improving quality and testing of Indian textiles and clothing for the Japanese market.
Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel said the key strengths of India in respect to manufacturing apparel are availability of raw material (cotton fibre, yarn, fabric, etc) in abundance, vertically integrated plants, skilled man power at reasonable wages, and availability of fabrics with wide range of designs.
“Japan is a thrust market for India and continuous efforts have been made by AEPC to participate in India Tex Trend Fair, Japan regularly. Globally there is a growing positive sentiment towards India including among Japanese companies,” Dr Sakthivel said.
Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman (Export Promotion), AEPC, said that the two-day digital fair is the first B2B fair and the Indian Apparel exporters are confident of making it hugely successful. “Indian exhibitors and exporters are capable of satisfying the high quality requirements in Japan,” Sekhri said.
Yosuke Yanagase, Honorary Chairman, Japan India Industry Promotion Association (JIIPA), said that the relationship between China and the United States is very tense and so many Japanese companies are contemplating moving out of China to other Asian countries, and that even the Japanese government is supporting.
“The Japanese government is supporting this movement from China to other countries to promote a more stable supply chain between Japanese and other countries,” Yanagase said. JIIPA has been doing the fair multiple times in a year but due to Covid-19 related restrictions on international movements; the hybrid fair has been organized.
Going forward, e-commerce will gain momentum as big brands are selling their products there and the new online trend for exhibitions will become even more common. Even the world famous fashion shows will move online, he added.
