How does the Indian textile industry measure up against Chinas?
China has been identified as the principal source for textiles and garments, followed by India. The Indian textile sector appears a distant second to China’s on various fronts. Indian exporters find it an uphill task to compete with the volumes that China is capable of delivering. China’s labour productivity and technology are considered far superior. Lead time, vital in the fashion-sensitive garment industry, is lower for exports from China to the US, at 12-14 days, compared to 40-60 days from India. World over, the demand for synthetics is growing more rapidly than that for cotton. While India has a strong position in cotton, China leads in synthetics. Why should an importer choose to source from India at all? Despite having plenty of catching up to do, the Indian textile industry is emerging as the next best alternative to China. Importers from developed countries are trying to reduce their dependence on China and increase sourcing from India. There are also those in the industry wh
