India has strengths in production and exports of almost all kinds of textiles and apparel including all handloom and handicraft products that demonstrate the unique skills of the country's weavers and artisans. To leverage country’s strength in textile value chain, Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani at a seminar on India-Asean weaving textile relations on Tuesday said that with the ability to produce a diverse range of products, India has the potential to become a one-stop sourcing destination for brands and retailers from Asean.

Irani urged ASEAN industry to set up manufacturing bases in India to cater to the domestic market and exports. Partnership between India and ASEAN was crucial for improving the standard of textile manufacturing and providing wage opportunities in both regions.

The minister added that opportunities exist for textile manufacturers from the 10-nation bloc to invest in India and cater to the domestic market as well as exports.

In the year 2016, India exported textiles and apparel worth $1,203 million to Asean and imported textiles and apparel worth $546 million from Asean, Irani said, adding that this was just a testimonial to the way forward.

Earlier during his address, textiles secretary Anant Kumar Singh said that India was strong and competitive across the entire value chain starting from raw materials to finished products. He added that though India has the unique advantage of having the presence of the entire textile value chain, its most exported items to Asean consisting of cotton fibre, cotton yarn and fabrics have not grown to the desired extent. This makes it evident that they have not been able to explore and leverage the strengths of their textiles industry to the fullest.

The India-ASEAN: Weaving Textile Relations show, celebrating 25 years of India-ASEAN relations was organised by FICCI in association with the Ministries of Textiles and Commerce and Industry.