Woven garment exports witnessed limited decline compared to knitted garment exports. Knitwear exports (Chapter **) declined by *.** per cent to $**.*** billion, compared with $**.*** billion in the same period of fiscal ****–**. Woven apparel exports (Chapter **) eased *.** per cent to $**.*** billion, down from $**.*** billion during July-February ****, EPB data showed.

Home textile exports (Chapter **, excluding ******) expanded, increasing by *.** per cent to $***.** million from $***.** million in the same period of the previous fiscal. Taken together, exports of woven and knitted apparel, clothing accessories, and home textiles accounted for **.** per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports, which stood at $**.*** billion during the period.

The agreement will offer market access for many Indian goods to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana.

He was addressing the second annual India-South Africa Business Conclave.

India’s envoy to South Africa Prabhat Kumar has said that New Delhi is confident about the latest round of talks to finalise the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Preferential Trade Agreement.
The agreement will offer market access for many Indian goods to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana.
The impetus for such a pact emerged in 2003, but have been stalled for over a decade now.

The impetus for a trade arrangement between India and SACU emerged in 2003, but have been stalled for over a decade now.

A joint study group (JSG) was established to examine the feasibility and potential scope of a trade agreement, followed by a number of meetings in ensuing years in Pretoria, New Delhi and Windhoek, a news agency reported.

Though SACU presented a revised text of the PTA by 2010, the talks considerably slowed down as both sides struggled to reach consensus on the list of products for tariff concessions.

India expressed interest in accessing SACU’s market for its textiles and clothing, which SACU deemed highly sensitive sectors. On the other hand, SACU sought access for its agricultural products and minerals, facing competitive or sensitive responses from India.

Following the economic challenges arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic and, India and SACU revived the PTA discussions.

The diplomat invited delegates to participate in the India-Africa Forum Summit later this year which will bring together the heads of state from African countries in New Delhi.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

The report, titled ‘Mapping of Textile Waste Value Chain in India’, was released by the Union Minister of Textiles at an event held at Udyog Bhawan. The study provides a comprehensive assessment of textile waste generation, recovery pathways, recycling technologies and opportunities to strengthen circularity across the country’s textile value chain.

India generates around 70.73 lakh tonnes of textile waste annually, with more than 70 per cent already recovered through recycling, reuse and other value-recovery processes. The study finds that 42 per cent of textile waste originates from pre-consumer sources such as manufacturing waste, while 58 per cent comes from post-consumer disposal.

India’s textile recycling sector is poised for strong growth as circular economy practices gain momentum. With the country generating over 70 lakh tonnes of textile waste annually and more than 70 per cent already recovered, expanding recycling infrastructure and technologies could transform waste into a valuable resource.
The market may reach $3.5 billion by 2030, creating nearly one lakh green jobs.

Around 95 per cent of pre-consumer textile waste is recovered, reflecting strong recovery networks within the industry. The report also notes that the spinning sector has established a benchmark for circular production, with nearly 100 per cent of spinning waste reintegrated into production through in-situ recycling processes.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh said India’s textile sector has strong potential to lead the global transition towards sustainable and circular production systems. He added that the report provides a data-driven blueprint to transform textile waste into an economic resource through recycling, upcycling and resource recovery.

About 55 per cent of India’s post-consumer textile waste is diverted from landfills through an extensive informal collection and sorting network that supports 40-45 lakh livelihoods, many of them women from marginalised communities.

Cluster analysis in the report identifies Panipat as a major hub for mechanical textile recycling, receiving waste from multiple textile clusters for processing. The study suggests that expanding recycling infrastructure across key textile hubs could further improve efficiency and support localised recycling.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JP)