New Delhi, Oct 22 (KNN) Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on Wednesday said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an important market for Indian apparels as there is huge untapped potential for increasing exports.

Speaking at the first virtual B2B meeting held between Indian apparel exporters and leading buyers based in UAE, AEPC Chairman Dr A Sakthivel said, “UAE is the second largest market for Indian apparels after the USA. We had exported apparels worth USD 1.9 billion in 2019. It is an important market for us as there is still large potential to increase our exports.”

The Chairman said India is focusing on higher value and specialized products such as manmade apparels, medical textile and technical textiles. Top brands like Zara, H&M, M&S, Mango, GAP, Topshop and Calvin Klein are already sourcing from India, he said.

“I invite all brands and buyers of UAE to increase sourcing from India. UAE investors can set up manufacturing facilities in India directly as 100 per cent FDI is allowed or through joint ventures,” Dr Sakthivel said, adding more B2B meetings would be held in future.

The maiden virtual B2B meeting, organized by AEPC and Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi, saw 30 apparel exporters from India and about 20 brands and buyers from UAE including top names like Lulu Group, Landmark Group, KM Trading and Apparel Group participating in the meeting. Contact and other relevant details of both exporters as well as buyers have been shared with all the participants by the Council.

Sandeep Kumar Bayyapu, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, UAE, said, “Our main aim is to increase exports from India to the UAE and there is tremendous potential for doing it. Dubai with its large transhipment port offers additional advantages as it caters to the needs of six other countries in the region.”

“Come and partner with us in building R&D, design innovation and incubation centres in India. Build textile design, forecasting and market research centre in India for global and Indian textiles,” said Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman (Export Promotion), AEPC.