Union Minister for Textiles Giriraj Singh on Saturday said India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with 56 countries had opened up great opportunities for the textile industry to compete well with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and others.

Delivering a special address at the golden jubilee of the Karur Textile Manufacturers and Exporters Association here, he said the country had FTA with just 10 countries when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014. It has gone up to 56 now. It has expanded the export potential to many countries. It was not limited to a few countries. The exporters could make use of the opportunity to tap the untapped export potentials world over.

Mr. Singh said the value of global textile exports stood at $900 billion. The share of India could be $100 billion. Given the prevailing ecosystem, entrepreneurship, human resources, skilled labour force, and the growth-centric approach of the Union government and others, India could certainly play a key role in the global textile export volume.

The Union Minister said that Kanpur had been a hub for textile machinery. The manufacturers had upgraded their machinery and technology through various sources. The number of textile machinery had witnessed a manifold increase during the Narendra Modi government. It had created four crore jobs.

Lauding the contribution of entrepreneurs in Karur in nation building, Mr. Singh said the city had emerged as one of the hubs of foreign exchange earners. The home textile products of Karur had a great demand in the U.S., Canada, and European countries. While 70% of products from Karur were exported, 30% of products were marketed in India. The manufacturers should aim for 100% overseas market.

Stressing the need for a strong cooperation and understanding between the Union and State governments, Mr. Singh said that the State government should promote sericulture in an aggressive manner.

P. Mathan Raja, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said that Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay was committed to the growth of industries in the State. The government would take all possible steps to accelerate industrial growth.

M. Beena, Development Commissioner, Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, said the current volume of textile exports stood at $30 billion. The Union government had set a target of $100 billion by 2030. It could be achieved by the alignment of Union and State governments.

Dairy Development Minister C. Vijayalakshmi, Karur MP S. Jothimani, Atlas M. Nachimuthu, honorary president, and P. Gopalakrishnan, president of Karur Textile Manufacturer and Exporters Association, spoke.