Japanese brands shows interest to invest in India’s textiles sector: Textiles Minister
Indian companies are ready to meet all quality norms appeal to brands to increase their sourcing from India: Chairman AEPC.
The 16th Edition of the India Tex Trend Fair (ITTF), was inaugurated today by the Union Textiles Minister, Giriraj Singh, in Tokyo Japan. Sibi George, Ambassador of India in Japan, Rohit Kansal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman AEPC and other dignitaries and industry leaders including a large number of Japanese buyers were present during the inauguration ceremony.
ITTF is being held from 15th to 17th July 2025. ITTF is a premier platform to showcase India’s rich textile heritage and apparel innovation to the Japanese buyers
The 16th India Trend Fair is a flagship textiles event, organized in collaboration with the Embassy of India, the Ministry of Textiles, AEPC, and the Japan India Industry Promotion Association (JIIPA), reflecting shared commitment to strengthening the textile and apparel partnership between India and Japan.
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AEPC participated with a high-level delegation to Tokyo for exploring the possibilities of enhanced trade and investment by engaging deeply with top Japanese brands. Rohit Kansal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, and other senior officials of the ministry, along with Invest India, is part of the delegation.
Speaking at the inauguration, Singh stated that, “India- Japan textiles trade relations are age old. As announced by the Honorable Prime Minister, this is the year of technology, science and design. I have spoken to various stakeholders from the apparel and textiles sector under the Prime Minister’s Modi government end to end policy that has been in place for the apparel and textiles sector. The ecosystem like 7 PM MITRA Park with an area encompassing 1000 to 2000 acres of each unit, where the expected investment is of 1 lakh crore, creating almost 12 lakh jobs. The Japanese investors who will go, will get all facilities including benefits of the state government various subsidies- like labour and electricity subsidy, etc. ”
Further, the Textiles Minister remarked, “ Recently Japan has imported 5000 cars from India which is testimony in itself of the Indian quality standards are at par with the Japanese standards. We have sustainable fibre and sustainable work force which can be leveraged to boost exports.”
Sibi George, Ambassador of India in Japan in his opening address remarked, “India is a rapidly growing economy with an annual growth rate of 6% and huge domestic demand and is expected to remain strong. Every day we have good news of growing India - Japan economic ties despite global chain slowdown.”
Further Ambassador added, “It is time to partner with Japanese buyers, Japanese consumers are known for their quality, attention to details and refined aesthetics; values that resonate deeply with India’s Textiles recourse.”
In his address to the gathering, Rohit Kansal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles said, “The Indian Textile Sector presents tremendous opportunities. Its end to end value chain capabilities, large domestic market, strong export footprint and capacity to manufacture sustainable and at scale are attractive factors for any buyers or investors.”
Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman AEPC in his address stated that, “India Tex Trend Fair has emerged as a strategic platform for showcasing the depth, diversity, and innovation of Indian textiles and garments. With participation from over 150 exhibitors, this edition brings an impressive array of collections—from sustainable apparel and high fashion to artisan lifestyle products—designed to resonate with Japanese consumer preferences.”
Further, Chairman AEPC said, “Under the leadership of our dynamic textiles Minister Shri Giriraj Singh, we had great meetings with the leading Japanese apparel brands who have shown great interest in India's apparel sector. We have appealed to increase their sourcing and invest more in India.
We had successful meetings with major brands like: Uniqlo, Adastria, Toray, Itokin company, Broque Japan, Daiso along with YKK and Pegasus, etc.” We as an industry is committed to meet Japanese quality norms. We invite all our Japanese partners to engage with Indian exhibitors, explore collaborative possibilities, and experience firsthand the strength and reliability of India as a preferred sourcing destination, Chairman AEPC added.
Commenting on the possibility of boosting apparel exports to Japan, Chairman AEPC Sudhir Sekhri said, “Our sincere and deeper engagement with the Japanese market has resulted in greater utilization of India- Japan CEPA. The increase in India’s share in the Japanese market reflects India's growing overall export competitiveness.”
Indian factories are ESG-compliant—embracing solar, zero-liquid-discharge, traceability brands like “Kasturi cotton"—resonating with Japanese buyers. India handles both small, customized batch sizes and large-scale orders, which align well with the needs of Japanese SMEs.
India has a golden opportunity to significantly expand its garment exports to Japan. Duty-free trade, strong sustainability credentials, and a flexible manufacturing base are strong foundations. However, catching up in quality standards (especially in MMF), simplifying trade procedures, and adhering to Japanese compliance norms are critical to capturing a greater share of the US $20–35 billion Japanese apparel market.
India's garment exports to Japan stood at USD 234.5 million in 2024. Tokyo imported these goods worth about USD 23 billion last year. India's share in this is just one per cent.
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