Noida: Apparel industry pins hopes on international fair

Noida The apparel industry in Gautam Budh Nagar, still recovering from the losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is now banking on the 66th India International Garment Fair (IIGF) that kicked off on Monday

Noida The apparel industry in Gautam Budh Nagar, still recovering from the losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is now banking on the 66th India International Garment Fair (IIGF) that kicked off on Monday. The two-month fair is being held virtually for the second time since last year and is scheduled to go on till September 25.

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Earlier, the fair used to be held at the India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida.

The International Garment Fair Association (IGFA) organises two events every year in the month of January and July in India. The event is aimed at helping exporters from India to showcase their latest designs and apparel for the upcoming season to importers from all across the world.

“At present, we have 1,123 registered buyers and 181 registered buying agents, while 251 exhibitors are showcasing their latest collections. However, we expect the number of buyers to increase to 2,000 in the course of next two months as our team is following up with over 14,000 buyers across the globe,” said Lalit Thukral, , vice-chairman of the IGFA.

According to Thukral, the association was looking forward to holding a physical fair this year before the second Covid wave hit the country.

The apparel and fashion accessories fair is being held in India since 1988.

Daljeet Singh, a buyer from London, who has been a regular at the fair for the past 20 years, said that the fair helps meet new exporters and exhibitors.

“China has been holding such virtual fairs and hence new collections keep coming from that country. Now, I am happy that India has again held this event as the kind of material we need for our market can only be supplied from India,” said Singh from London, who runs Coleridge UK, an apparel firm.

Uday Sehgal, an exporter from Noida Sector 59, said that many of his regular buyers stopped business due to losses incurred during the pandemic.

“We are heavily dependent on the IIGF now because the pandemic hit the business badly. By showcasing our collection at the fair, we can be sure of business because the buyers are registered and genuine. We are expecting new buyers for this season at the fair,” said Sehgal.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in March last year in the country, the GB Nagar apparel industry suffered a collective loss of over ₹3,000 crore, said Thukral, who is also the president of Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC). However, he said that the market has recovered up to 80% of its business.

“In 2020, we did suffer losses but in 2021, the business is back to 80% capacity of what it was before the pandemic. We hope that we will reach the pre-pandemic business, which is ₹10,000 crore, by end of this year,” he said.