In an era of the global slowdown, the Indian textiles industry is trying its level best to compete in the export market, and the recent fair by AEPC discussed how India can take advantage of the sequence of events happening globally.

The 47th edition of the India International Knit Fair featuring all seasons was organized by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (Sponsored by Ministry of Textiles, Govt of India) under the umbrella of India Knit Fair Association at IKFA Complex, Tirupur recently.

The fair was inaugurated by S. Gunasekaran, Member of Legislative Assembly, Tirupur (South), M.Karunakaran, IAS, Director of Handlooms and Textiles, Govt. of Tamil Nadu in presence of Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council and India Knit Fair.

Inaugurating the event, S. Gunasekaran expressed happiness that such an international event is happening in Tirupur and appreciated the efforts of Dr A. Sakthivel for organizing the same.

He expressed that the State Government is helping the manufacturing sector to make the state as number one. Karunakaran informed that the recent Textile Policy will support the growth of knitting and textile sector in the State. He said this after recalling the recommendations made in the 2019 Textile Policy such as incentives for processing, knitting, and power loom sectors and for setting up of industrial parks in the state. “The Government is keen on developing industrial sectors in the state for the textile and apparel sector. He further greeted the exhibitors of the fair, appreciated their variety of displays and expressed that such fairs exclusively for knitwear garments industry showcase to the world about our innovative products and will certainly bring in a lot of business.”

In his speech, Sakthivel, informed that 47th edition of India Knit Fair was organized in the backdrop of the current economic scenario. “China’s Trade with other countries is greatly affected due to Corona virus while U.K has detached itself from the European Union. On the other side, Vietnam and Cambodia are exempted from Import Duty due to Free Trade Agreement. This is expected to make India a preferred market for sourcing for the buyers from US/UK/Europe and Canada, etc. Also countries which were depending on China have learnt a lesson that they should have an alternate market for sourcing, which have made India as their preferred destination.”, he concluded.

New Cotton form factors gets attention:

The wide range of display in this fair included Summer/Winter collections in knitwear for infants, kids, men and women. Space dyed yarn garments made from mélange yarn dyed stripes and jacquard were displayed along with cotton, Polyester, Poly cotton, Polyester-viscose blended fabric apparels. Special garments made from banana cotton blend also attracted visitors.

Banana cotton blends are made up of 80% cotton and 20% banana fibre. They have the property of being very cool  and comfortable. Garments with reverse print, cold pigment dyed, 3D print, acid spray styles, tie and dyed, bio washed, enzyme washed, etc also were showcased.

It is also noticed that the manufacturers are now working on special designs, different types of packaging methods and also visual merchandising.

A total number of 39 leading Exporters from Tirupur, Coimbatore, Chennai, and Kolkata have participated and displayed their products. They have expressed their satisfaction and have shown interest in participating future events at Tirupur. The selection of Stall Awards was done in an unbiased and transparent way by a Committee of Technical Experts and the Special committee selected the Best Exhibitors Awards and Appreciation Certificates to the following Exhibitors:

PGR Exports, Tirupur: BEST EXHIBIT

Ahill Knit Exports, Tirupur: FIRST RUNNER-UP

True Worth Inc, Tirupur: SECOND RUNNER-UP

Twin Birds, Tirupur: CONSOLATION CERTIFICATE

R Ramu, Committee Member of India Knit Fair Association, Vasanth Exe.Secy, India Knit Fair Association with participants were distributed these Awards and Appreciation Certificates to the winner Exhibitors. P Gouthamraj, MD of PGR Exports,  M Aravind, MD of Ahill Knit Exports and Shri R M Chandra Kumar, GM of True Worth Inc and Prakash of Twin Birds received their respective awards.