Is China+1 dead? How FTAs give India a second chance

Major talking points have been mostly on “China +*” sourcing, Digital Product Passport and Extended Producer Responsibility, diversification and free trade agreements (FTAs) at the trade fest. With “China +*” becoming a bigger talk of the town as tariffs and war become a new blow to the industry, Rahul Mehta, chief mentor, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), however, told Fibre*Fashion in an interview that the topic is almost dead.

“Because it was there for several years, and I think we did not take the full advantage of the opportunity that was provided. The international buyers were keen to not substitute China but at least add another sourcing country but we just could not provide the kind of volumes and the kind of scale that the international buyers were looking for,” Mehta said.

He shared that there were some benefits that India reaped, but for the last five years the country’s exports of apparel have not gone beyond $**.* billion to $** billion. “So, it means that we did not really take advantage. I think the other competing nations like Bangladesh, Vietnam, etc. have taken much greater advantage,” Mehta mentioned.

He highlighted that one of the factors was that India’s foreign policy was not very keen to get Chinese investment, whereas countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam were more receptive to getting Chinese investment and therefore, whilst on paper it was “China +*,” buyers were still dealing with the same suppliers of China but from Vietnam or from Bangladesh.