Global brands to have least effect due to hike in import duty

Textile giant Arvind, is speeding up it’s efforts to localise end-to-end manufacturing of garments for global fashion brands. More than 80 per cent products of the brands that it sells are Made-in-India, so the impact of import duty hike will be marginal except in some areas. Addition to this the Ahmedabad headquartered company plans to open plants in Gujarat, Jharkand and Andhra Pradesh in a bid to cushion it’s verticalisation plans and decentralise manufacturing.

Similarly, Puma India has accumulated it’s locally sourced products to 70 per cent. The company has been approached by several local manufacturers, including Arvind and Gokaldas for developing high-end fabrics and garments that are used in sportswear but the talks are in a budding stage.

Hiking of import duty on textile products will have little impact on global apparel brands as several of them have localised manufacturing. Local manufacturing is expected to boost the demand for raw materials, including cotton, and provide a fillip to the employment sector.

Earlier this month, the government had increased the import duty on a range of textile products to protect domestic manufacturers and support the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative.