The Times of India | 26 May 2026
Textile companies look to tap into prospects offered by FTAs
Free trade agreements offer the Indian textile industry a significant
opportunity to expand its share in the EU, UK, and other markets, as they boost
competitiveness. Large players, including Gokaldas Exports, KPR Mill, Arvind, Welspun
Living, Vardhman Textiles, and Pearl Global Industries, have signaled export growth in
these markets. Some, such as Trident and Arvind, are setting up showrooms, increasing
brand visibility at trade fairs and appointing local executives in Europe to strengthen their
presence.
Having been among the hardest hit by the US tariff escalation last year, the industry is
keen to reduce its concentration on a single market. European and UK buyers are
proactively diversifying sourcing away from Bangladesh and Vietnam, and tariff parity
from FTAs will support India’s push, said Pallab Banerjee, managing director of Pearl Global
Industries. “The EU and UK buyers are already placing trial orders and building vendor
bases in India in anticipation of implementation of the FTA,” he said.
Jitin Makkar, SVP and group head at ICRA, said benefits from the trade deals are likely to
accrue from FY28 onwards, with an expected 10-15% revenue growth. “Given ongoing
tariff-related uncertainty, corporate India will adopt geographical diversification as a key
risk mitigation strategy in the long term.
Exporters would look to strengthen their efforts to build a more geographically diversified
customer footprint, even if it involves parting with some margins in the near term. This can
attract long-term investments in the sector,” he said.
However, companies flag capacity addition as a key constraint, with a few ramping up
production and others like Arvind adopting investment-light expansion through partner
factories in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Egypt. India’s textile exports to the EU and UK stood
at $9.76 billion in FY25. Industry estimates suggest this could rise to $15 billion once FTAs
are fully operationalised.
