The textile industry in the European Union is keen on tapping the strengths of the Indian textile sector and come up with a “Make with India” policy rather than “Make in India”, says The Yarn Bazaar co-founder and CEO Pratik Gadia.
“Make in India is great. But it seems to have a slight negative sentiment with the European industry as it feels that India is not opening up its imports. This was the crux of the message we recently got during an Indo-European Union meeting on free trade pact,” he said.
Gadia was one of the Indian representatives during deliberations with the European Union on co-operation measures for mutual economic benefits at EU-India Leaders Conference at Brussels European Parliament. There was a separate panel for textiles during the event.
Win-win partnership
The EU industry feels that with both knowing their strengths, it would be better to collaborate for a clear win-win partnership, he said.
“The EU is not just looking at cross-border collaboration with India or simply looking to increase business between the two. The idea is, together how can we capture larger international textile market share? We are discussing how we can collaborate so that we can get a larger market share of the overall textile industry?” Gadia said.
In particular, the EU industry wants India to buy more machineries even as India looks for better access for its textile products in the union. “In India, apart from a couple of companies, there are not many good manufacturing units to make machinery, whether it is spinning or weaving. Most of the machines are imported. The collaboration can probably provide a cost advantage,” Gadia said.
Tech transfer?
India and EU can opt for technology transfer or collaboration. “We can do a lot of collaboration in design and innovation. Post-pandemic, the global industry has changed. A lot of innovation is happening but India is yet to catch up. Collaboration can help that way,” he said .
The collaboration will help the EU and India once a free trade agreement is signed. Currently, Bangladesh enjoys a duty rebate or preferential duty rate as it is considered a least developed country (LDC). “The FTA will put us at par with Bangladesh. Together with this, we can target a much larger global share for our textile,” the Yarn Bazaar CEO and co-founder said.
Gadia said when it comes to textiles, the FTA between India and the EU may not be as complicated as say Basmati rice for which India is seeking a geographical indication tag.
He said some of the European buyers are still concerned over the quality of Indian products and some of companies here are still casual in meeting delivery schedules. “It is not a cultural issue but a structural one. If we can assure quality and timely supply of products, we can gain,” Gadia said.