The Hindu Business Line : TEA calls for planned strategy to lower garment production cost

THE Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) has said that a planned strategy to bring down apparel production cost is needed to remain competitive in exports. This strategy should cover the three critical areas of enhancing labour output, energy conservation and waste minimisation.

Training of labour through job enrichment schemes aimed at rationalising labour cost/productivity assumes importance, while prudent energy conservation practice along with identification of methods to minimise waste and rejections should also be carried out to achieve cost competitiveness in the global textile/apparel trade, the TEA said.

Speaking at the 15th annual general meeting (AGM) of the association held at Tirupur, the TEA President, Mr A. Sakthivel, told the members that with the US and EU freezing textile and apparel imports from China, the importing countries attention has now turned to India to bridge the supply gaps. Although buyers from the US and Europe are prepared to offer higher volume of business to India, their price quotes remained unattractive for the Indian shippers. This phenomenon has called for a review on the cost structure.

The global trade exposure has brought garment-exporting units in India closer to internationally acceptable management practices and there can be no compromise on compliance to quality management systems and ethical standards implementation such as the ISO 9001, SA 8000 etc. To facilitate its member-exporters in implementing the management standards, TEA, which has already set up a Standards Compliance Cell, this year proposed to provide consultancy services to its members in ISO 9001, social accountability standards 8000 and WRAP certification with the help of the Cell.

The post-quota scenario holds promises on future business but the current uncertainties in the textile trade do cause anxiety to the exporters forcing them to look for support from the government, Mr Sakthivel said.

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