Textile firms in India and Bangladesh should collaborate by exchanging products and technical know-how, and strengthen their position in the global market, said Nahid Rashid, counsellor with the Bangladesh high commission. She was speaking at the inauguration of ‘Weaves’, a textile fair organised at Texvalley, in Erode recently.
Deputy high commissioner of Sri Lanka for Southern India V Krishnamoorthy agreed with her. “In the globalized era, countries are required to cooperate, instead of competing with each other, as they are all interdependent of each other for goods and services in every imaginable sector and economic activity. For globalization to succeed, countries must engage in trade relations with the right spirit and right partners,” he said. “The textile sector provides upto 600 mn jobs worldwide. There is a huge scope for a symbiotic relationship between Sri Lankan garment and apparel manufacturers and the Indian yarn and fabric suppliers,” Krishnamoorthy added. Vice-Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) A Sakthivel said that Tamil Nadu accounts for 60 per cent of exports of yarn and fabrics, and 85 per cent of knitwear.
“Together, they provide about 40 lakh direct jobs. However, the industry expects the government to create a level-playing field for it to compete in the global market effectively. The textile sector is going to stay in Tamil Nadu, where there is availability of raw materials, local demand, skilled people, tradition, culture and the spirit of innovation.” The fair has attracted about 250 exhibitors from countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Myanmar and other parts of India, representing a wide range of the textile industry – from fabrics to weaving machines.
