Surat’s garment sector set to grow 20-25% as global brands seek stability away from Bangladesh

Gandhinagar: Many brands, both global and local, that were procuring garments from Bangladesh are now looking at Indian manufacturers to meet their demand, as they grow increasingly uncomfortable with continuing instability in the neighbouring country.

Textile industry insiders in Surat said they are getting enquiries for the production and supply of ready-to-wear garments from such brands. If these materialise into orders, they estimate the growth of Surat's garment sector could accelerate to 20-25%, from the current 12% a year. Textile hubs in Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Noida too could benefit from new orders, they said.

While Bangladesh is the second-largest exporter of ready-made garments behind China, it is highly dependent on the fabric supplied from Surat, the textile city of India. As big brands are looking for alternative sources amid increasing political instability and law and order issues, as well as unrest among textile industry workers, in Bangladesh, Indian companies see it as an opportunity to supply more value-added products to global markets.


"Essentially, Surat's garment sector has been producing ethnic wear, kurtis and low-priced women's wear and some denim," said Ashish Gujarati, a former president of the South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce. "There has been a significant spurt in enquiries by the big brands after trouble started in Bangladesh, which would certainly benefit the sector majorly."

Govt Assistance

Surat currently has a monthly turnover of about ₹600 crore. While it largely deals in man-made fibre, the cotton hubs in Tiruppur and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Ludhiana in Punjab and Noida in Uttar Pradesh are also expected to reap the benefits of the developments in the neighbouring country, he said.

“While we shall see some gains in the short term, if the situation is capitalised well, we should be able to grow significantly in the garment manufacturing sector,” said Gujarati. “But that would also call for some assistance from the government.”

The garment sector in Bangladesh has already been under pressure and the country has reported unrest among workers due to financial stress. Clusters in that country are located around Dhaka, Chittagong, Gazipur, Ashulia, Narayanganj, Khulna, Narsingdi and Rajshahi. Dhaka and Chittagong have been facing major unrest, while trouble has been reported from other areas as well.

In November, Swedwatch, a Swedish non-profit organisation reporting on business relations in developing countries, published a scathing report on the garment workers’ plight in Bangladesh. It asked European Union members to enforce stricter diligence to ensure the protection of workers’ rights.

The organisation also recommended global brands sourcing garments from Bangladesh to “avoid contractual cascading or seeking blanket assurances from suppliers, but instead invest in meaningful stakeholder engagement when identifying potential and actual impacts and developing corrective action plans”.

It suggested brands join hands with trade unions for the betterment of workers, including targeted training programmes. These are expected to ensure better working conditions and fair wages for textile workers.