Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) largest manufacturer of polyester in the country, having an annual capacity of 2 million tonnes (mt), almost half the country’s 4.5 mt after launching of its new brand RElan is now pushing to increase its presence in the polyester space, it is expecting around 5 per cent yearly growth in this segment, much higher than the global average of 3 percent. China, with 45 mt manufacturing capacity out of 70 mt globally, is much ahead of India.

For RElan, the new portfolio of speciality fabric, RIL has tied up with VF Corporation of America, owner of the world’s largest denim brand, Wrangler, to launch by the coming February the Inficool denim range.

A senior firm official said that they are in talks with at least five leading domestic and international apparel brands to co-brand with the RElan brand. The co-branding will give RIL a foothold in the Rs 250,000-crore Indian apparel industry, almost a 50-50 share of menswear and womenswear.

The move likely to help reduce India’s import of speciality fabrics, averaging 500 million sq metres, valued at $1.2 billion, in each of the past three years. The industry estimates a little more than 90 percent of the fabric is from China, with the rest from Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.

RIL is also planning to tie up with 200 textile manufacturers, giving focus to Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan, which account for 20 percent of India’s fabric production capacity and manufacturing textiles worth Rs 50,000 crore annually, said the official.

Global per capita consumption of polyester is 6 kg per person, compared to 3 kg per person in India and 11 kg in China. It is the other way round in cotton, with India’s per capita consumption at 54 kg per person versus 18 kg in China and a global average of 28 kg. India’s textile industry contributes 14 per cent of industrial production, 6 per cent of GDP and 17 per cent of export earnings.