India to hold fiber exhibition

HCM CITY –  Source India 2018, India’s largest manmade fiber exhibition, is expected to provide opportunities for Vietnamese textile firms to network and strengthen business relationships, Shri P. Harish, Ambassador of India to Việt Nam, said at a business meeting yesterday in HCM City.

The event, to be held in Surat, India from September 21-23, is expected to attract the participation of around 200 international suppliers of man-made fiber and 200 global buyers in the textile and garment industry, according to India’s Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council.

Exports of cotton, fabric, yarn and other textile materials from India to Việt Nam in 2017 was around US$550 million, Harish said.

He said that Indian textile companies are capable of satisfying Việt Nam’s demand for textiles and urged India’s export promotion council to increase material exports to Việt Nam.

“This would also meet a strategic objective of Việt Nam to have a more diverse supplier base for the garment industry, so there is no over-reliance on only one or a group of suppliers,” he said.

Textile and garment exports from India to Việt Nam totalled US$429 million in 2017, 44 per cent higher than 2016, according to the Indian government.

Vietnamese textile and garment exports to India were $178 million in 2017, 42 per cent higher than 2016.

Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Mai, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association, said that Việt Nam imports a great deal of high quality fiber, materials and technology from India.

She said that arranging a bilateral free trade agreement and setting up a bonded warehouse at Việt Nam for Indian materials would improve trade between India and Việt Nam.

In 2017, Việt Nam exported around $31 billion of garments and imported over $19 billion of materials. – VNS