The Hindu Business Line : `India ready to meet post-quota challenges'

IS the country ready to meet the challenges in a post-quota regime? Yes, according to the CIAE (Confederation of Indian Apparel Exporters) President, Mr Amit Goyal.

He said there was great anxiety and excitement over how the trade community in India would respond to the end of the quota regime in 28 days.

Mr Goyal was speaking at the 5th DHL-CIAE International Fashion Award on Friday. Mr Shankarsinh Vaghela, the Union Minister for Textiles, was also present at the event.

Mr Vaghela told the members of the industry present that once the quotas were removed, he expected Rs 7,000 crore worth of investment to enter the country in two years.Mr Goyal said in a press release that the global trade in textiles and clothing is estimated at $450 billion and is growing at an average annual rate of 5 per cent.

For the January-October 2004 period, India exported about 1,086 million pieces of apparel valued at $4.48 billion — representing a 7.89 per cent increase in quantity terms and 14.5 per cent increase in value terms over the previous year.

However, he said the Textile Ministry needs to play a more active role in export promotional activities and must act as a facilitator rather than as a regulator.

Mr Goyal said port infrastructure must be improved, duty drawback rates increased and its scope widened. The tax rates should be reconsidered to make exports more competitive. He asked the Government to provide WTO-compatible tax benefits for the industry and clarity on certain IT laws that were hampering the industry's activities.

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