IFC advocates local sourcing of garments

In the wake of the surge in garment imports from Bangladesh, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) has made a case for sourcing clothing requirements from within the country instead of importing. According to ITF, there has been a 53% y-o-y rise in Bangladesh’s overall exports to India in April’19 and a concomitant loss of apparel business worth INR 7,500 crore. This is despite the government trying to promote local garment production through initiatives like Make in India, Skill India and incentivizing job creation.

ITF Convenor Prabhu Dhamodharan, opines, “Indian textile clusters can serve better, source the needs of both western and Indian brands both in terms of quality and competitive pricing”. He added that Coimbatore, Tirupur, Karur, Erode, Surat and Ludhiana are the major apparel hubs that retailers and brands can rely on.