Thursday 18 April 2013

Japanese buyers express interest in sourcing more garments from India

With the comprehensive economic partnership agreement offering duty free imports on textiles, Japanese buyers are keen on increasing their sourcing of garments from the country. But they are still wary of quality issues and want Indian exporters to address them.

India can increase its share in Japan's textile imports from 0.9% to 3% in the next 2-3 years, a delegation of Japanese buyers, who are in Tirupur for the ongoing knit fair, said. Japan currently imports textile goods worth about $25 billion a year, the third highest in the world. China accounts for more than 85% of Japanese imports.

Chinese textile products however face 10%-11% (on cost and freight) import duties. "Since the duty difference is huge, retailers would welcome Indian products," Japanese buyers said. Trade would however grow if the quality of textile products improves, they said. Japan currently sources a small quantity of specialised items from India.

"Our quality standards are quite stringent. Quality parameters in Japan are much more severe than the US and the European Union," said Yoshiaki Kamiyama, Senior Researcher, Japan Textiles Importers' Association. Some international brands being sourced from India face up to 40% rejections, which is a cause for concern, he said.

Japanese buyers also want exporters here to manage their logistics in a better way and reduce the shipment time. "Indian exporters take 3-4 months to send their consignments to Japan while Chinese sellers take just one month," said Yukio Moriguchi, MD and CEO, Stylem International, which sources garments from the country. Indian textile manufacturers should focus on establishing a proper supply chain management, he said.

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