Dubai: Indian apparel manufacturers are looking to hold exhibitions in world markets like Australia, the US and the UK which have strong diaspora to expand into new geographies, an industry official said.
Speaking with PTI after holding the inaugural edition of the annual exhibition in the city, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) chief mentor Rahul Mehta said domestic brands are becoming stronger and more capable with their successes within India and it is necessary to take these brands to newer geographies.
“It is time to expose to the international and global market and we felt we should begin with the international market, where the Indian diaspora is in large numbers,” Mehta said.
At the recently held “Brands of India” in Dubai, there were a total of 350 domestic brands from India exhibiting their wares, Mehta said, terming the response as “tremendous”.
“Our plan is to have three cycles, at least in Dubai. then, we will go to other markets such as Australlia, US, New Zealand, UK etc,” Mehta said.
He underlined that Indian brands are not just about ethnic wear, but also include other alternatives which make them as powerful as western wear brands.
Dubai was the “obvious choice” to hold such a show, he said, adding that being the second largest export market for Indian goods, it has an established potential for Indian products.
The CMAI tied up with The Dubai Textile Merchants Association, The Dubai Textile Merchants Association (TEXMAS), Dubai International Chamber and Readymade Garments Merchants Group Dubai for the exhibition which was held in November-end.
Leading wholesalers, retailers, distributors, e-commerce platforms and departmental chains showed interest in the exhibition, the CMAI said.
Rajesh Masand, president of CMAI said the apparel industry will play a crucial role in augmenting India’s Ready-made Garment exports to the region.
About 1,500 retailers and importers from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya Cameroon, Somalia, Algeria, Sudan, Russia and had pre-registered to visit the event.
Jagdish Amarnani, the chairman of Texmas said, “India is amongst the world’s largest producers of apparel.”
The fair had fashion collections by leading brands from Kolkata, Mumbai, Tirupur, Surat, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Indore, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as the largest importer of Indian ready-made garments with imports totalling USD 1.21 billion in FY23. In the first seven months of 2023-24, UAE’s imports of Indian ready-made garments reached USD 368.78 million.
