Textiles India 2017, touted as the biggest textile and apparel industry fair to be held till date in the country, concluded recently in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. However, the textile extravaganza, organised by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII),turned out to be a big disappointment to more than 300 Indian apparel exporters, who exhibited their products and innovations with high hopes at the 3-day international trade show.
The majority of apparel exporters,at the much-hyped textile fair, were upset with the poor turnout of overseas buyers. Besides this, Apparel Resources, which was there to cover the fair extensively, observed that participants were not content with various aspects of the show, and the team was surprised with the revelations of the exhibitors as it was an unexpected spoiler for such a mega event.
Exporters complained of the inappropriate show timing and believed that July-end would have been a better alternative. They further held CII in experienced in terms of organising such grand events. The lack of basic amenities like good hotels for exhibitors; transportation; and proper food court at the fair, were amiss!Exporters claim that the trade show was declared open for public on its last day, and even then the badge distribution task wasn’t handled efficiently.
What irked exporters the most was the presence of children selling tea at the fair. This happened at a time when the entire Indian apparel export industry is highly concerned about compliance norms. The lack of arrangements to clear the mess post heavy rains during the show further added to the dismay.
Sharing her experience with Apparel Resources, Aastha Kapoor, Creative Director, Affordable Exports, Delhi,averred, “The show was crappy! There was no sanitation; some people from the general public were vomiting here and there, and nobody was there to clean it. None of the export promotion councils took care of this; we are fed up and are not going to come here again for sure.” She further added that overseas buyers were extremely less in number.Also, her booth was surrounded by the locals because of which the ‘actual’ buyers presumed her to be quite occupied and didn’t turn up at her booth. It appeared that the organisers of Textiles India 2017 were just trying to impress the Prime Minister, Aastha remarks.
Also Read – Indian textile industry gears up for Textiles India ’17
To read the detailed coverage on Textiles India 2017, watch out for the upcoming issue of Apparel Online India magazine.
