Largest ever Indian team makes a mark at Frankfurt textile fair

Monday, 13 January 2003, 20:30 IST
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FRANKFURT: The largest ever Indian contingent, including ministers from Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have made a strong pitch at the popular Heimtextil trade fair in this German city. Around 350 exhibitors were part of the Indian delegation at the fair, rated as the world's largest show for the home-textiles industry. India's was the largest team, surpassing even the usually dominant Italians, who numbered 270. The Indian exhibitors, who presented a wide array of home-textile products, displayed their wares alongside their fiercest competitors - China and Pakistan - which also had large contingents of 308 and 216 exhibitors respectively. Although Germany's economy is very close to a recession, Indian textiles managed to make a mark with their innovative designs and quality at the fair, held from Wednesday to Sunday. Sanjay Bajaj, marketing manager of Bharat Silks, Bangalore, and a regular at Heimtextil since the past two decades, was upbeat about Indian textile exports. "We are doing good business here because our customers have a good opinion of our quality designs and reliability," Bajaj told IANS. Bharat Silks exhibited upholstery silks, curtains, pillows and other home-furnishing articles. But Bajaj added: "The time taken by buyers to place orders is becoming longer." He also warned that China could be a major threat to India, particularly once World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations take effect in 2005. Some Indian exhibitors complained about their location in Hall 10, which was at the farthest end of the fairground and, as they said, made it difficult for buyers to come to them. K.P. Singh, the Madhya Pradesh minister for rural industries who was present at the show, said some exhibitors would have preferred Hall 6, which had also been designated as the venue for products displayed by the Madhya Pradesh exhibitors. This was echoed by Ajay Ruia, the director of the Mumbai based Ruia Exports Ltd., and Anuradha Khurana, a partner in SIDDHI, a New Delhi-based export house. A similar view was expressed by exhibitors from Tamil Nadu, whose Minister for Handlooms and Textiles V. Somasundaram arrived here with senior officials. A. Elangovan, secretary in the Tamil Nadu ministry for handlooms, handicrafts, textiles and khadi, said Indians planned to make a representation to the organisers, Messe Frankfurt, to allocate an appropriate hall to them in future. However, not all exhibitors in Hall 10 were dissatisfied with their location. Khushwant Singh, general manager of Mittal International, Panipat, was in an upbeat mood as he talked about the "good business" he had contracted for his company's products such as pillows, curtains, carpets and the likes. "We have done good business here. In fact, we are happy that we were shifted from Hall 6 to 10," Singh said. A couple of exhibitors said the low turnout of buyers had nothing to do with the location but rather with the general economic gloom, which precluded customers from ordering and stockpiling inventories as they had been doing earlier. Basant Pratap Singh, the additional development commissioner (handlooms) in the Indian ministry of textiles, acknowledged that the current global mood was "not exactly one of buoyancy". But Singh predicted that India's prowess in textiles was becoming stronger in the world. The majority of Indian exhibitors said that they would like to come again to the next Heimtextil event in 2004 because "this is one event we cannot afford to miss", to quote one Chennai exhibitor. With annual exports at $12 billion, India's textile and apparel industry has come of age but still needs to tap the full business potential, particularly in the backdrop of fierce competition from China and Pakistan, said analysts here.
Source: IANS