Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on Wednesday said it is taking a 140-member delegation to the UK, Japan and the US next month to further promote outbound shipments of the sector as these countries account for about 40 per cent of apparel exports. The delegation will be participating in three international fairs -- Pure London, India Tex Trend Fair (ITTF) and Sourcing at Magic in the US -- in July, AEPC said in a statement.

Naren Goenka, Chairman of AEPC said these three markets alone have a share of more than 38 per cent of the total apparel exports market, valuing USD 6.8 billion in 2021.

"These shows will give an opportunity to exporters to showcase their products and supply capabilities of value-added products with special emphasis on the products designed to suit fashion trends and requirements," he said.

He added that apparel imports into the UK have witnessed a positive mark in the last three years despite the pandemic.

"UK import from India in 2021 was USD 1092.1 million registering a growth of 12.6 per cent. At a category level, woven garments hold a much better acceptance in the UK as compared to knitted garments. The benefit from AEPC participation is, it will strengthen our position in the UK market before the India- UK FTA, which is expected to reduce the tariff further," he said.

While the US fashion companies continue to diversify their sourcing, Asia as a whole will remain dominant in 2022.

Indian apparel exports to the US in 2021 stood at USD 4.5 billion, registering a growth of more than 40 per cent compared with last year.

In the Japan market, he said knitted garments are getting more popular than woven ones.

"The Indian exporters have a unique niche as compared to its competitors; China and Vietnam. They can cater to both small size customised orders of 300 pieces to large orders as huge as 3 lakh pieces of one style. This makes most of the global apparel brands from the EU, US, Australia, Japan, etc. source from India," Goenka said.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com