India-Oman Free Trade Agreement to Boost Apparel Exports: AEPC
A free trade deal with Oman will help boost apparel exports as there are huge business opportunities in the Gulf state for Indian exporters, AEPC said on Thursday.
Negotiations on the pact, officially called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), are proceeding at a rapid pace.
The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said the rapid move towards CEPA is encouraging and will be a game changer for bilateral trade between India and Oman.
Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $12.39 billion in 2022-23, up from $9.99 billion the year before.
“The export of RMG (ready-made garments) to Oman grew from USD 13 million in 2020 to USD 28 million in 2021. Customs duty in Oman is 5 percent on RMG products. Although it is a small market, but has huge potential to one day to grow The tariff will be removed after the FTA and will be a new gateway to the GCC countries,” said AEPC Secretary General Mithileshwar Thakur.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a union of six countries in the Gulf region: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. The council is India's largest trading bloc.
He also said that India will host BHARAT TEX EXPO 2024 here from February 26 to 29 next year to increase exports.
A roadshow was organized by the AEPC on December 15 in Bengaluru to attract the domestic industry for the show.
Naren Goenka, Chairman, AEPC, provided assurance to the brand representatives and buying teams on the sustainability status of Indian manufacturers across all ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) parameters.
He stated that the event will ensure India's preparedness vis-à-vis the world in terms of compliance, product focus, quality, government and policy support.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: December 21, 2023 | 4:05 PM IST