AEPC asks Indian govt to declare apparel exports as essential services

Apparel exports should be considered as essential services due to the perishable nature of the product, AEPC chairman A Sakthivel said in a communication to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to media reports.

Export orders from Europe and the US have revived but Indian apparel exporters may lose these to competing countries due to lockdowns in various states amid the second wave of COVID-19, Sakthivel said. Many competing and neighbouring countries have declared apparel exports as essential services.

Not executing apparel export orders may cause loss of orders and export earnings in the short term as well as loss of buyers in the long run, the AEPC chairman said.

He added that countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan and Cambodia are trying to take the orders from Europe and the US and if India loses its buyers, they will not come back in the future.

Even after being hit badly in 2020, the sector showed resilience to get back on track, he said.

Earlier in a webinar, Sakthivel had urged buying houses and agents to convince international clients to not cancel their orders as India is expected to bounce back by mid-June.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)