Domestic textiles market may grow 7-8% this fiscal

 “The onset of good monsoon and Government initiatives may help in growth of 7-8 per cent of domestic textile market, which was estimated at $60 billion in FY16,” said Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Chairman Naishadh Parikh here.

The textiles exports, estimated at $40 billion, is likely to expand by 5-8 per cent this fiscal, he said. Welcoming the new Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, Parikh said, “the appointment of a dynamic, progressive and result-oriented Cabinet Minister like Irani comes at an opportune time when the industry is poised to turn “Make in India” into a reality.” 

The apex chamber of textiles in India hoped the industry will achieve the ambitious goal of creating 5 crore jobs in the next few years. India is the second fully integrated textile value chain, next only to China, and industry is looking forward to initiatives to further bolster the sector in view of large investments taking place in Bangladesh and Vietnam towards verticalisation of the industry, Parikh added.

The recent initiative announced by Government should further strengthen the textile value chain, he added. Meanwhile, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), the apex body for the textile industry in the region, on Friday made a few fundamental and transformational suggestions to the Centre to drive textile sector towards the $300 billion export target by 2024-25.

In a letter to Textile Minister Smriti Irani, congratulating her for taking over the ministry, ITF Secretary Prabhu Dhamodharan said that in the last two years, the ministry had created a good platform for growth by improving the efficiency in the system and has also designed few good policies to trigger growth in the sector.

The domestic textile industry is now equipped with capacities to export fabrics and can capture this huge market if the ministry and industry worked in tandem, he said.