Erode textile fair expected to generate revenues in excess of Rs 800 cr

He was delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of Weaves, South India’s premier textile fair, featuring a four-day exhibition and conference, being organised by the CII and Texvalley, an integrated textile shopping mall from December 5 in Erode.

The fair, which has attracted about 250 exhibitors, is expected to generate revenues of over Rs 800 crore.  Dr BK Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and Past Chairman, Confederation of Textile Industry, said the sector accounts for 7 per cent of total industrial output, 4 per cent of GDP, and 25 per cent of total exports earning. It has the potential to become a $250 billion industry by 2019. 

The State has over 5.75 lakh weaving machines in operation currently. “Fashion changes every two weeks today, unlike every four seasons in the past, drastically shrinking the farm-to-shop floor lead time. The strength of the industry is that it achieves such a huge volume of exports without having to import virtually anything. The farmers grow cotton of all counts – from 2 to 120 – throughout the year. The domestic industry meets all machinery needs. There is abundant skilled labour pool,” he pointed out.

A Sakthivel, VC, AEPC & Regional Chairman, FIEO, said Tamil Nadu accounts for 60% of exports of yarn and fabrics, and 85 per cent of knitwear. Together, they provide about 40 lakh direct jobs. However, the industry expects the government to create a level playing field for it to compete in the global market effectively.

V Krishnamoorthy, Deputy High Commissioner, Sri Lankan Deputy HC, said in the globalised era countries are required to cooperate instead of competing with each other, as they are all interdependent of each other for goods and services in every imaginable sector and economic activity.   He said the textile sector provides upto 600 mn jobs worldwide, and there is a scope for a symbiotic relationship between Lanka and India in the  textile segment.