Tamil Nadu

Efforts on to free export from seasonal vagaries

TIRUPUR: Knitwear Tecnology Mission, an initiative of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, will be a continuous exercise towards enabling the knitwear export sector to improve exports, according to A. Sakthivel, who heads the Mission.

Mr. Sakthivel told The Hindu that the objective was to improve the fabric used by the apparel sector, promote use of blended fabric and improve the designing capabilities of the knitwear units.

Currently, the units mainly used cotton-based fabric and hence most of the exports were also for specific seasons. By using various blends of fabric, exports could be made throughout the year.

As an initial effort, Mr. Sakthivel said, fabric from Taiwan was exhibited in Tirupur for the knitwear exporters. The mission planned to have a building and designing facilities too.

The mission proposed to take up research and development of the indigenous fabric base, set up a state-of-the-art design studio and laboratory, conduct fabric fairs, especially of materials from Taiwan, Indonesia and Korea and training workforce and students on improving productivity.

The entire industry would benefit from these common facilities and the mission would have its head quarters in Tirupur.

The Rs. 15-crore industry-funded mission would enable the knitwear manufacturers cater to the high-end and a larger market.

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