Textile exports to touch $25bln in 2007-08: Assocham

New Delhi, Apr 1 (UNI) Growing by five billion dollars this year, the total textile exports of the country is likely to reach 25-billion-dollar mark in fiscal 2007-08.

The export projections for textile products can be attributed to the emerging trends which reveal that ever since MFA was phased out in January 2005, the economies of scale particularly in the US, EU and other countries have not been able to produce export products to satisfy their end-users in their respective markets.

''Their (the countries') consumers have been preferring textile products sourced from India and other Asian countries in view of their quality and price competitiveness, the larger beneficiary for which in the recent past has been China,'' industry body Assocham said.

The textile exports were estimated at 17 billion dollars in fiscal 2005-06.

Besides, the domestic textile sector would attract Rs one lakh crore investment under Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), which aims at transforming the entire textile industry by extending fiscal assistance, a paper brought out by Assocham on 'Future Textiles Exports' predicted.

''Under the scheme, loans worth Rs 14,000 crore have already been disbursed and in future the scheme will further pick up to attend to the needs of domestic textile sector,'' claimed Assocham President Venugopal N Dhoot.

The statement found that TUFS has been mainly responsible for this new phenomenon as with increased financial assistance to textile industry in the last couple of years, its fruits have now started reaping, Mr Dhoot further added.

''Therefore, Assocham is optimistic that our textile exports and investments will multiply manifold as financial assistance to textile industry is leading to technological infusion in most of the textile units which are revamping themselves to take on the global challenges.'' The chamber pointed out that China's growth of textile exports have substantially declined in last year which dropped by almost 20 per cent due to a higher valued Chinese currency, cut in export tax rebates and higher labour costs.

The 10 per cent cap on Chinese textile exports will continue till 2008, which has provided ample opportunity for India to establish itself in the export market.

The industry body believes that the government's Vision 2010 for textiles to increase India's share in world's textile trade from the current four per cent to eight per cent and to achieve export value of 50 billion dollars may come true.

UNI