Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu): With China in the dock over the origin and outbreak of coronavirus which has engulfed the whole world, countries across the globe have been forced to rethink about their trade relations with Beijing.
There is a growing suspicion and distrust on China, which continues to be a major trading partner with the rest of the world. The United States is accusing Beijing of a cover up while its allies too have joined the chorus seeking an impartial probe into the spread of the pandemic from the Wuhan province of China. Their grouse is that China has not alerted the world about the pandemic in time.
As a consequence, economists and international trade analysts pointed out that many countries would shift their manufacturing base out of China and India is in a strong position to attract them. According to them, countries which are leaving China for good would set up their base in India which is expected to boost trade and commerce, notably in the hosiery and ready-made garment sector.
The rising tide of anti-Chinese sentiment could, no doubt, bring huge opportunities. However, the big question is whether India could grab the opportunities and profitably handle them by taking advantage of the emerging situation.
However, the hosiery industry is not hopeful. Exporters and manufacturers in Tiruppur, the hosiery capital of the country, are candid enough to admit that it is beyond India's capacity.
"In the event of India securing the entire volume of business meant for China, the country does not have the required resources to absorb that,” was the crisp response of Raja Shanmugham, president of Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA). "We do not have the trained manpower and manufacturing capacity," he added.
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China has a stronghold of the global hosiery garment market with its share remaining at 39 per cent, whereas it is a meagre 3.8 per cent for India, he pointed out, adding that Vietnam and Bangladesh stand better than India in attracting those opting trading partners outside China.
"The garment manufacturing sector in those countries has an advantage since their governments extend many concessions so that the industry could be competitive. If the western nations turn their back on China, we would get only the remainder of what Bangladesh and Vietnam have got," Shanmugham made it clear.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' mission, he said that had India walked the path of self-reliance since the time of independence, it could have been in a much better position. To drive home the point, he drew attention to China exporting on a mass scale Personal Protection Equipment kits and face masks at least a decade ago.
In his view, it would be a challenge for India to even take 5 per cent of the volume that China handles. "Tiruppur accounts for 60 per cent of the total hosiery exports of the country. Hence, we need three more Tiruppurs to handle such a huge volume of business in hosiery manufacturing. For that, both the Centre and the state should take the required initiatives," he added.
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Another exporter, Duraisamy, insisted upon the need to remove the structural deficiencies in the sector besides enhancing our technology and skilled manpower to grab at least 1 per cent of the orders coming out of China in the next five years.
"Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, we had opportunities from the US knocking on our doors. But we lacked the infrastructure to grab them. Even now the situation is the same. Further, we are heavily dependent upon China for raw materials," he explained, adding that appropriate policy changes and technological upgradation, as well as incentives to the industry, would help the hosiery sector to face the challenge successfully.
