Over 80 prominent Japanese buyers including and trading companies and retail chains/stores are in India to source their requirement from the 112 odd Indian exhibitors displaying their goods at the Upnext India 2023, it added.
AEPC Chairman Naren Goenka said: “We hold a strong business opportunity in Japan, reflected by the fact that China, which has been a dominant garment supplier to Japan, has witnessed a decline in the past 5 years giving significant advantage to India”.
Garment fraternity in both the countries have geared up to increase this trade taking advantage of duty-free access for Indian ready-made garments post Indo-Japan free trade pact, he said.
The Indian garment industry is blessed with the largest raw material availability of cotton, jute, silk and wool in the world and is supported by the world’s second largest spinning and weaving capacity.
“This gives the industry an opportunity for a 95 per cent domestic value addition enabling India to offer to the world a complete value chain solution from farm to fashion and hence extending as a competitive edge by shortened lead times to reach our buyers,” it said.
Goenka, said that Japan is the fourth largest readymade garment importer in the world, there is a huge untapped trade potential in the ready made garments (RMG) sector. The government is coming up with a production-linked incentive scheme which will majorly include RMGs, he said.
Sudhir Sekhri, Vice Chairman AEPC, said that Japanese companies have competitive advantages as apparel sourcing base.
“Indian suppliers can cater to both small size customised orders of 300 pieces to large orders as huge as 3 lakh pieces of one style. Apparel imports into Japan have witnessed a positive uptick in the last 3 years despite Covid-19 which allows India’s apparel industry a huge opportunity,” Sekhri said.
Ashok G Rajani, Chairman, Fairs and Exhibition, AEPC said that this Japan-focused meet provides them a platform to engage with Japanese brands and buyers.
The show will also witness the series of panel discussions where experts, industry leaders and academia will deliberate upon the trade outlook, compliance and emerging technologies for building the capacity for the industry to be future ready.
Japan imported readymade garments worth USD 23 billion in 2022 (till November), and India exported readymade garments worth USD 0.22 billion to Japan, with a share of 0.9 per cent.