Challenges involved in exporting clothes from India

By on June 26, 2012

Clothing industry is one of the major sectors of trade in the entire globe. Clothing industry has been existed because of the efforts of liberalization of the Uruguay Round of GATT. To get most out of the emerging conducive international trade scenario Indian clothing industry should embark the challenges based on the following lines:

Prospects for exports would depend on the extent to which India would be interested in improving the quality of blazer products in view of increasing competition and increased emphasis being put on quality. Thus the clothing industry must focus on quality (Roy and Verma , 1999; Ramaswamy  and Gereffi and Gary, 1998).

The reasons quoted by industry experts for gradual decline of the blazer in the share of clothing industry in the global market include reluctance to meet the international quality specifications, inability to specialize in one segment and missing delivery schedule. Thus the government needs to ponder over reasons for decline in blazers in clothing industry’s share in the global market.

The Multi-Fiber Agreement was a fully and completely expressed to secure developed producers of country by prohibiting blazers exports from industrialized to developing countries. The Multi-Fiber Agreement also provides temporary security to developed organizations country to develop the alterations that is important to rival against less producers of cost from developed countries (Deshpande , 2009; Prasad, 1997). The Multi-Fiber Agreement has not only offered an efficient framework for expanding the developed country manufacturers of blazer with secured position and, it has also gained some preferential access of quota to leading markets in developing countries.

India is strategic to be a superpower of manufacturing of blazer in 2005. Its clothing and textile industry is preparing for quota removal by investing to expand capacity. Potential problems however are those current Indian labors laws make it easier to manage smaller separate factories than one large factory. India has good design, availability of raw materials, the English Language and less labor cost and its legal system provides protection for workers rights. India exports around $8 billion worth of blazer worldwide each annum slightly more than half of which has gone to the United States. Problems include poor infrastructure especially access to port facilities and electricity, high power of cost, less productivity, poor roads, random corruption and strikes (Khanna  1991; Gokhle  and Vijaya Katti, 1995).

Too many exporters and retailers are thus chasing too few customers. Quality, compliance and time schedules have become accepted norms. Poverty and cheap labor is no longer an asset because there always will emerge new clothing export countries, where Indian workers can earn more than other countries.  Also it is no longer enough to produce good clothes and ship it on time as there are more than enough suppliers able to meet these minimum standards.

References

  • Roy P R and Verma S (1999), New Opportunities and Challenges Emerging On the Textile Scenario, SAGE, New Delhi.
  • Ramaswamy K V & Gereffi and Gary (1998), India’s Apparel Sector in the Global Economy, Catching Up or falling Behind, Economic and Political Weekly, Pune.
  • Deshpande P (2009), Garment Export Industry of India, APH Publishing, New Delhi.
  • Prasad A C H (1997), India’s Competitiveness in Export of Garments in the MFA Phase-out and Post-MFA Phase-out Periods, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.
  • Khanna S R (1991), International Trade in Textiles, Sage Publications, New Delhi.
  • Gokhle C and Vijaya Katti (1995), Globalizing Indian Textiles- Threats and Opportunities, Tecoya Publication, New Delhi.

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