JEDDAH, 21 May — A visiting Indian textile delegation has found Saudi Arabia potentially the biggest market in the Gulf for the traditional Arab wear and other dress material.
“Demand for ‘thobes’ and ‘abayas’ is tremendous and it’s equally so for ‘ihram’ used by pilgrims. So, some mission members are even thinking of setting up additional powerloom factories, with a view to expanding their share of the Saudi market,” Sandeep Jain, leader of the 15-member study team currently on a tour of the Gulf, said here yesterday.
Over 80 local textile importers and traders took part in a buyer-seller meet organized by the Consulate General of India at Red Sea Palace Hotel yesterday.
“Our textile exports to this part of the world have been on the increase, particularly in the past three years. The mission’s purpose however is to strengthen the presence of Indian textiles and look forward to new joint ventures, agencies or franchises,” said Jain, who is also the executive director of the Textiles Ministry’s Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL).
“Members are so encouraged by the current visit that there could be a multifold increase in textiles exports from India, from its present annual level of 653.89 million rupees,” he added.
The Kingdom’s huge market for textiles is being served by many countries including Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China and Pakistan, aside from India, Jain said adding: “We’ve capacity to face the highly competitive Saudi market both in terms of quality and price.”
The members represent 13 leading textile establishments. They include S.S. Yuvaraj, managing director of Kankadurga Fabrics, Salem, Tamil Nadu, who emphasized that the country’s powerlooms were being modernized in terms of technology, design and quality. “The market for fabrics continues to expand here, especially for bed linen, terry towels and scarves,” he remarked.
The delegation, which arrived here on Friday, will have follow-up meetings today and visit Riyadh for nearly two days from tomorrow. Kuwait and Dubai are also included in the delegation’s Gulf tour.
