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Joint promotional programme expected to boost exports to Brazil, Columbia

Reena Mital - Mumbai

The Indian Textile Exhibition, held recently in Columbia and Brazil, has evoked good response. The exhibition, organised by the Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), jointly with other EPCs, is expected to give a significant boost to India’s textile trade with these two Latin American countries.

As many as 37 Indian companies participated in the event, majority of them from the synthetic and manmade fibre sector. Other participants were from the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, Handloom Export Promotion Council, Indian Silk Export Promotion Council, etc. Some of the Indian participating companies included Arvind mills, Banswara Syntex, Mahajan Processors, Maral Overseas, Rajasthan Spinning, S Kumars, Siyaram, Sutlej, etc.

The events in Columbia had as many as 800 visitors, from around 450 companies. "Almost every company received on-the-spot business, and we expect that deals worth Rs 20 crore would be finalised within the next six months. The response has been overwhelming, considering that this was the first time that we had a promotional programme in this region. Moreover, joint participation of the EPCs helped in portraying the strengths of the Indian industry," according to SRTEPC officials. The councils are expected to have similar programmes in the future too. According to officials, the chambers of commerce in Columbia and Brazil, which were actively involved in the events, have also suggested that exhibitions of this kind be held regularly.

In Brazil, the Indian Textile Exhibition attracted around 300 visitors, even as on-the-spot business was not much. However, the participants did make very good contacts with the industry there. According to the official, "A new government has just taken over in the country, and the economy is in a transitional phase. Things would settle down after Feb or March, and business will pick up then." It is expected that exports of synthetic and rayon textiles to Columbia which stand at around Rs 10 crore, would double within the next one year. Whereas exports to Brazil at Rs 50-60 crore would increase by 30 per cent over the next 8-9 months.

Textile products that will find a potential market here include cotton yarn, polyester-viscose blended yarn, polyester filament fabric, higher-end suitings such as polyester-wool suitings, and handloom products such as furnishings and curtains, bedlinen, kitchen linen, etc. Also, silk and embroidered fabrics find a very good market in these countries.

Columbia and Brazil are fairly dependent on textile imports for their local industry. Columbia has a strong apparel industry, but has to depend on imports for its downstream raw materials. As against this, Brazil has a strong, integrated textile industry, but nevertheless depends on imports for a number of products. India however does not have a large market share in both these markets. Indian exports account for around 3-4 per cent of the total textile imports of Columbia, whereas in Brazil, India’s share is around three per cent. India competes with China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, etc in these markets, and has to be very competitive in the commodity products.