TIRUPPUR: Ready-made garment (RMG) exporters plan to urge the central government for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA, following the regime change there. A Sakthivel, in-charge of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (Southern Regional) and Chairperson of the Apparel Made-Ups and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC), said that the friendly relations between US President-elect Donald Trump and central government will aid in this.
Speaking to TNIE, Sakthivel, said, “The USA is the most important market for Indian ready-made garment exports. For example, from April to September this year, we exported ready-made garments to the USA alone, at $2564.8 million. But we don’t have a FTA with them. India’s RMG industry will benefit immensely if an FTA is executed with the USA, considering the change of regime. As there is a mutual relation between US President-elect Donald Trump and our central government, we are going to request the central government to execute an FTA.”
Further, he said, “India’s exports continue to surge, showcasing growth across key sectors. The cumulative overall exports from April to October, 2024 are estimated at $468.27 billion, up from $436.48 billion during the same period last year, achieving a remarkable growth rate of 7.28 %. In a standout performance, export of all RMG saw a substantial increase of 35.06%, rising from $0.91 billion in October 2023 to $1.23 billion in October 2024. Cumulative RMG exports for the period between April to October, 2024 are at $8732.6 million, showing a growth of 11.6% from the same period last year.”
Commenting on this, Sakthivel said, “This consistent month-on-month growth underscores the strength of our export sector, particularly in RMG. I firmly believe that we can achieve a further growth of 15-20 % by the end of this fiscal year. This positive trend is encouraging and is a fruit of our efforts to maintain quality and punctual delivery of goods. If this goes as predicted, exports from Tiruppur will surge to Rs 40,000 crore this year.”
KM Subramanian, President of Tiruppur Exporter’s Association, said that as 30% of Tiruppur knitwear exports go to the USA, the FTA will help exporters to compete with other countries in capturing orders.