“Being an exporter in Mumbai I would only frame the situation over here. The basic problem that we are facing now is not the buyers’ enquiry and not even the Govt. Policies. In Mumbai the manpower is very expensive and the garmenting industry here is totally finished having huge competition with Delhi, Noida area. The manpower there is cheaper, more skillful and they are investing heavily on infrastructure whereas, in Mumbai, the mindset is pretty outdated. Now-a-days buyers are adapting to ethical practices so they would ask for certificates and all. But the infrastructure is not supportive enough to get those certificates for a factory in Mumbai. The living cost is higher so naturally everything becomes costlier and the rural areas around Mumbai for manufacturing are not efficient enough. The local mindsets, the involvement of local goons are the biggest issues to run any factory here. Moreover I would say, given the circumstances, after five years Mumbai will only have head offices and operation offices and all the manufacturing units of those will be somewhere else in the country or outside.” Sameet Mehta, Boom Clothing Pvt Ltd., Mumbai.
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“I don’t feel very competent to answer this question in detail but I will say that the export policies are not so good as per the current scenario. We, who are into the industry, just have to sustain and survive. There is nothing much to do about it. According to me the main thing to focus for growth is financing. On the paper and policies, it’s a very rosy picture but when you go to the banks for the same there are lot many complications with no solutions.” Nanik Sambtani, S S International, Delhi.
“I think that direct exports should be made GST free from its purchase levels so as to ensure that working capital deficiency is resolved. Further, government should provide MDA facilities for exhibitions in international markets to exhibit the upcoming collections.” Vishal Jain, Nauti Kidz Wear, Kolkata.
“To be very honest, in India to run a manufacturing facility we have to go to remote areas. We cannot be part of tier 2 or 3 cities and the production area is at least 15-20Km away. That becomes the biggest task sometimes when we have to send even the smallest parcels anywhere. It takes literally a full day for an Air Cargo to reach our custom departments which is quite different in countries like China where such simple tasks do not take so much time. We exporters are doing whatever in our power to survive and grow but these are little things that the Govt. needs to support us with. As per the efficiency and mindset is concerned, we are a part of the society which is changing its mindset with time. The individual owners need to take care about the efficiency and set a proper work mindset. Today I don’t have any issue in focus and efficiency in my workplace.” Dhavall Thakkerr, Ketty Apparels India Pvt Ltd., Mumbai.
“I don’t believe in the fact that we are less efficient than China or others. In case of exports, everything is open to the buyers and they have a huge array of exporters to select from. Every country has their own specialty and I think India also have some specialties and many companies are exporting in big volumes. I think in near future also buyers are going to depend on other countries when it comes to sourcing at cheaper price. So the only thing an exporter can work on is efficiency and costing. Also one needs to build a good relationship with buyers for future growth even if that buyer is not sourcing from you at present. I think the market has become so cut-throat that we need to keep on with it every moment and the competition needs to be healthy. Efficiency in terms of your operations, management makes a huge difference in your reputation.” Suraj Shashank Mehta, Hindustan Apparel Industries, Telangana.
