Indian cotton does not have its own brand and hence is unable to carve a niche and earn a premium, unlike US, China or Egypt. Union Textile Minister, Smriti Irani at a special session on ‘Recent Developments in Textiles Industry: The Road Ahead’ organised by the Merchants Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) said that, ‘I will ask the industry to come up with a proposal on how to make good quality Indian cotton a global brand.’

She also said that the Commerce Ministry, Suresh Prabhu is already working on exploring global markets for Indian fabrics and will soon work on it. Last week, she asked the domestic cotton industry to come up with a proposal regarding branding of the country’s cotton, primarily aimed at the export market.

Sanjay K Jain, Chairman of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and board member, Cotton Association of India (CAI), the matter is currently under deliberation. “The Suvin cotton produced in Tamil Nadu and Shankar 6 produced in Gujarat are both good quality cotton and can be projected as a brand globally. The matter is in the deliberation stage,” he told at the session.

The proposal once ready, would be placed before the Textile Ministry as well as the Commerce Ministry soon, Jain said.

– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel