The Hindu Business Line : Maran to lead team for Tokyo textile fair

‘Some good news in Budget’: The Union Textiles Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, at a function organised by textile associations in Tirupur on Tuesday.–

Our Bureau

Tirupur, June 30 The Textiles Ministry is preparing to help exporters gain access to new markets .

It is in this context that the Ministry, along with the Apparel Export Promotion Council, is planning to take a delegation of exporters to Japan to attend the International Trade Fair in Tokyo.

The Union Minister for Textiles, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, is to lead the team which is scheduled to leave on July 20.

The textile community in India is said to have booked 50 out of the 350-odd stalls.

Mr Maran told reporters that the participants would display India-made garments and take part in a fashion showduring the three-day event.

“The Ministry will look East, explore new markets such as Japan, Australia, Cambodia, South Africa, Turkey, Brazil and Russia. Japan appears to be a favourable destination as the Japanese prefer the ‘Made in India’ tag to ‘Made in China’. We must exploit the potential,” he reiterated.

Reverting to brand promotion, Mr Maran said the Ministry would strive to promote the India Brand, not only in the markets abroad, but also within the country. ‘We should look to promote the India brand here. Our domestic consumption is huge,’ he added.

While hinting at about the 10 per cent drop in exports of textiles, Mr Maran pointed out that the domestic consumption had stagnated.

To a query on the National Fibre policy, he said ‘the process has just started. The policy can be expected to be in place before the close of this year.’

Mr Maran said “I have placed your wish list with the Finance Minister. Don’t expect too much, but you can expect some good news”.