Govt should focus on markets where Indian garment exporters have edge over others: Ajay Sahai (Watch Video)

New Delhi, Feb 17 (KNN) The garment sector is pushing for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and European Union (EU) because there the Indian garment exporters have competitive advantage over the Bangladesh, Ajay Sahai, Executive Director, FIEO told KNN.

The top officials of India and EU will meet on February 22 in Brussels to review the stalled negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement. The last round of trade talks between the two sides happened in May 2013.

In January, 2016, India’s ready-made garments export contracted by -5 per cent.

Reacting to the falling exports from India especially from the textile sector, Sahai said, “The garment sector wants the India-EU FTA because India has a competitive advantage over Bangladesh in EU.”

He said the people in EU are very fashion conscious and has a very sophisticated segment where niche garment goes.

“India has natural as well as man-made fibre coupled with top designers. The garment export in EU from India can remarkably increase because Bangladesh would not compete with us there,” he said.

Bangladesh can compete with us in Africa where there is major population. In US, India has regained the second position as garment exporter after China, he pointed.

Ajay Sahai said that Bangladesh only has garment sector as an industry but India has many sectors so focus on one particular sector becomes difficult.

He said that the government should look at boosting exports in the market where India has an edge over other to make up the losses which we are making in other countries, he said.

The country's cumulative export in apparel was about USD 12.1 billion for the financial year till December 2015. The industry has been raising concerns over Vietnam securing zero-duty access to the European Union market from 2017. Vietnam has already ousted India as the world’s third largest garment exporter. Indian products face restrictions such as a 9.6 per cent import duty, as an India-EU broad-based trade and investment agreement (BTIA) has yet to be finalised.

The two-way commerce in goods between India and the EU was USD 98.5 billion in 2014-15. Watch Full Video (KNN Bureau)