Dhiraj Shah
Chairman The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council
Demand for specialty textiles is going to be huge
The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), set up in 1954, is one of the oldest Export Promotion Councils in India. The products under the purview of the Council are man-made fibre (MMF) and blended textile items including fibre, yarn, fabrics, made-ups, accessories, home textiles, technical textiles, etc. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, SRTEPC chairman Dhiraj Shah discusses the challenges and the outlook for Indian textile trade.
What are your key takeaways from the textile and apparel industry developments in 2021?
The textile industry came to a standstill due to strict lockdown in the entire year of 2020 till the initial months of 2021. There has been a turnaround in the textile industry from the 2nd half of 2021. As per latest statistics, there have been encouraging trends seen in exports as they have grown significantly compared to the previous year. Due to the hard work of textile entrepreneurs, Indian companies have swiftly come into action to take advantage of the emerging global opportunities of textiles exports.
Does 2022 seem to be as uncertain as 2021? Which factors would you rank as of topmost concern?
I am expecting the year 2022 to be better than 2021 provided the new variant of COVID-19 does not impact the world again. The policy initiatives taken by the Government of India such as PLI, RoSCTL for made ups and garments, etc are likely to yield result both in terms of increasing production and exports of textiles from India. However, availability of quality logistics is a big concern for trade. Huge delay in shipping services, shortage of vessels and skyrocketed freight, etc have been putting tremendous stress on the textiles trade.
By when do you expect the challenges of shipping industry to ease?
As expressed by experts at various platforms, it is expected that the shipping related issues may slightly subside by 3rd quarter of 2022.
How pressing could be the labour issues for the textile and apparel industry?
Yes, labour is one of the core issues in textile manufacturing. Though there is availability of labour, at times it becomes difficult to manage due to the migratory nature of our labour force. As per our understanding, the Government of India is working on framing new labour policy, which is the need of the hour.
Do you expect any significant movement in textile and apparel supply chains in 2022 due to the geo-political scenario, particularly the US-China tension?
Maybe the movement has already begun. The US has increased import tariffs on many of the textile products originating from China. This may be a boon for countries like India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc.
On the demand side, do you expect a significant pick-up beyond pent-up consumption in 2022, without government support?
For conventional textiles, the demand is going to be as usual, not so high. However, demand for specialty textiles or technical textiles, including medical textiles, geotextiles, automotive textiles, etc is going to be huge.
Following the recent COP26 meeting and given the textile industry’s influential role in climate change, what major developments do you expect in 2022?
There is growing global awareness on depleting environment conditions and initiatives are being taken to stop further damage and improve the climatic conditions. Based on the end users’ feedback and demand, major global fashion brands and retail chains have been strictly implementing sustainability norms. For sourcing raw materials, the mandate for recycled fibres and materials has already been issued. Therefore, sustainable, and recycled textiles are the only future alternatives.
Related to this, would you say brands will increasingly start focusing on sourcing with sustainability/ethics as a factor?
Yes.
Will we see greater technology adoptions in 2022 to solve transparency and traceability issues in the supply chain?
Again, the steps in this direction have already started. Digitalisation is a big step forward. In India, with the introduction of GST there has been huge improvement in the areas of transparency and traceability issues in the supply chain.
Energy prices are currently a major concern across the world. How do you see them continuing and what business strategies can we expect to cope with them?
Power cost is one of the major input components for the textile industry. There are a variety of duties that are included in the electricity bill. Since the textile industry cannot function without electricity, the government should consider giving suitable electricity subsidies, especially for the textile units.
Lastly, any changes in the textile and apparel business model that you expect?
In India we have structural issues as far as textile business is concerned. I hope that the textiles parks initiatives under the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India will be able to address this issue to some extent.
I hope for the best.
Published on: 11/01/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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