Following a surge in the demand from domestic market, the textile industry in Gujarat is now seeing an uptick in export demand from Europe, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Although the textile industry witnessed a dampened demand in the period from April to July 2020 because of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, the demand is now high on both the domestic and international fronts.

“From August, textile units started functioning again amid scattered orders from domestic buyers. By Diwali, most textile manufacturers got many orders from all across the country. Not only were manufacturers able to exhaust unsold inventory, but also the entire textile value chain, especially in Ahmedabad and Surat, experienced unprecedented business opportunities,” said Gaurang Bhagat, President of the Ahmedabad-based New Cloth Market.

He said that from December 2020, home textile, cotton and synthetic fabric manufacturers started getting exports orders too. Bhagat, who is also the trade committee chairman of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI), claimed that some importers from the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand have decided to source textiles from Indian suppliers instead of China, Pakistan and Turkey.

He said the industry is also benefitting from the textile exhibition FABEXA 2020, in which participants from 52 countries took part. Organizers were forced to hold the exhibition online, but the efforts seem to be translating into real business, Bhagat said.