A’bad: One-stop textile shop

The coming year will see Gujarat’s textile industry undergo a major transformation. Automation will be introduced at various levels to tackle labour crisis and churn out quality products.

More automation, cluster approach in the offing
The Gujarat textile industry, especially in Ahmedabad and Surat, is poised for greater automation in the coming year. “An acute shortage of workers is the main reason for the textile units in Surat opting for automation. This will reduce the requirement of workers and simultaneously improve the quality of the output,” said Pramod Chaudhary, president of the South Gujarat Textile Processors’ Association. The industry is shifting towards value addition in embroidery. While this sector may not be peaking, experts said that the trend will gather pace in 2010, with the industry also moving towards digital printing, jacquard and garment manufacturing.

“Modernisation in the industry will get a boost in 2010, but the government should ensure that subsidies are released on time,” said Nilesh Mandlewala, president of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The cluster approach is also likely to experience a big push in 2010 as many of textile parks being developed under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) are expected to become operational in the coming year. Seven such parks are being developed in Gujarat.

Denim capacity to go up next year
Gujarat, which currently produces around 274 million metres of denim annually, will increase its capacity to around 300 million metres in the next year. Around 10 denim producers in the state contribute more than 10 per cent of the global denim fabric production.

Arvind Ltd, the largest denim producer in India, is keen on increasing its capacity by 10 million metres. Currently, it has a capacity of 90 million metres per annum, which will soon increase to 100 million metres.

Simultaneously, another city-based denim producer, Nandan Exim Ltd, is also in the process of increasing its capacity by 10 million metres per annum in the next nine to 12 months. The company currently has an installed capacity of 30 million metres per annum at its existing manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad, which it plans to raise to 40 million metres.

Global denim fabric production is around 2,700 million metres, of which 22 per cent is contributed by India, which has an installed capacity of more than 600 million metres. More than 50 per cent of global denim production takes place in Asia.