NEW YORK, NY (TIP):Nirupama Rao,Ambassador of India to theUnited States, inauguratedhere January 28 an ApparelTrade show organized bythe Apparel ExportPromotion Council of India(AEPC), in cooperationwith M/S Trade Good, atthe PENN Plaza Pavilion.Ambassador PrabhuDayal, Consul General ofIndia in New York, KevinBurke, President ofAmerican Apparel andFootwear Association, andA. Sakthivel, Chairman of the AEPC and Sudhir Sekhri,Chairman (Export Promotion) of theAEPC were also present.Ambassador Rao, In her remarks saidthat Indian textiles represented anunbroken link between India’s ancientculture and its modern day life style.
Noting that India’s Apparel sector hasrapidly upgraded its technology and ishighly competitive in meeting USmarket demands in various segmentsincluding high fashion and massconsumption, she highlighted thatthrough DISHA (Driving Industrytowards Sustainable HumanAdvancement), the Indian Apparelindustry has implemented an industrywidemeasure for facilitating andpreparing Indian apparel manufacturerstoward becoming more socially andenvironmentally responsible. Shepointed out that at US$3.3 billion, India’sexport of garments represents one ofthe important constituents of overallIndia-U.S trade.
Ambassador Rao, accompanied byAmbassador Prabhu Dayal, KevinBurke, and A. Sakthivel went round andspoke with a number of sellers fromIndia. Tirupur sellers outnumberedsellers from other major centers likeLudhiana, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangaloreetc.Giving her comments to the mediawhile taking a tour of the exhibition,Ambassador Rao said, ” Our relationswith United States are growing anddiversifying in so many areas. Textileexports are a very very important part ofthat growth and that strengthening ofour relationship with the United States.””Today, we saw on display many manyexporters from various parts of India.
And, I was very impressed not only withthe quality of the fabrics and thedesigns, but also with the fact that ourtextile industry is becoming increasinglyglobalized and connected with theoutside world.””This is a millennium tradition inIndia-our textile tradition but today it istraveling abroad and it is through thatprocess , I think, the voice of India isheard much more powerfully around theglobe”.At the trade meet spread over twodays, on 28-29 January 2013, thirty fivemember exporters exhibited theirFall/Winter 2013-14 collections.
Morethan 300-400 buyers, including at leasttwenty Brand Stores were expected toparticipate in the B-2-B event. Some ofthe major buyers expected to attend themeet included RALPH LAUREN;WARNACO; CHILDREN PLACE; LORD& TAYLOR; UNDER AMOUR; VFSPORTSWEAR; NAUTICA; RED CATand JONES APPAREL.The Buyer Seller Meet was expectedto generate substantial spot business andalso help cement long term businesspartnerships for participatingexhibitors.