About 70 per cent of the workforce employed in the industry are women, he said.
New destinations
Sekhri said that to increase its presence in foreign markets, AEPC had plans to participate in 17 international fairs across all continents. “The new destinations that we are targeting this year are Saudi Arabia, Poland, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and Russia besides the traditional large countries like EU, the US and UK,” he said.
With the first edition of Bharat Tex in Feb 2024, a collaboration between the government and the entire textile Industry, being successful, it has been decided to further extend outreach to buyers across the world, through the second edition of Bharat Tex sometime early next year, the statement added.
To reach out to foreign brands, AEPC organized a roundtable last week with the representatives of major NCR-based buying agencies, and liaison offices of overseas retailers.
“In that meeting, it was emphasized that to achieve the target of $40 billion by 2030, there is a need for more and more engagement with the brands and buying houses,” the statement said.
The advantages of free trade agreements (FTAs) are now visible as ready-made garment exports registered 16.8 percent growth in Mauritius and 5.7 percent in Australia from April-February 2023-24, Sekhri pointed out.
“The signing of FTA in the near future with the UK, which accounts for roughly 8 percent of Indian apparel exports, will provide a much-needed fillip to the garment industry,” he said.
