ITA: A way forward for a stronger Indo-Italian business cooperation
In conversation with Salil Chawla, Director of DFU Publications, and Eliana Zappala, the Deputy Trade Commissioner of the Italian Trade Agency in New Delhi, on the sidelines of the ITA event in India today at the Hyatt Regency, New Delhi, she alluded that, "we have organized this initiative to strengthen the presence of Italian machinery companies in India, where we already have a market share of 7%.".
We are here today with 11 Italian companies, producing machinery in the weaving, spinning, and dyeing of tissues, so many different, non-woven, different sectors, and they are here to present their new technologies and meet buyers here in Delhi. .
Then we will have some company visits tomorrow in the Delhi NCR area, and then we will move in Mumbai for the same format, meeting buyers coming from the Mumbai area. So we hope—I mean, it's quite a new experience for us because it's the first time we organized this kind of initiative, and we hope it will be fruitful for Indian and Italian companies too.
Then we will have some company visits tomorrow in the Delhi NCR area, and then we will move in Mumbai for the same format, meeting buyers coming from the Mumbai area. So we hope—I mean, it's quite a new experience for us because it's the first time we organized this kind of initiative—and we hope it will be fruitful for Indian and Italian companies too.
I think Indian market is growing year after year because I've been here since three years and I'm already very fine seeing some evolutions. We think that Italian companies can offer apart machineries, they offer, as we know, services, post -site services, and we need that last year for example at the Itma fair that is quite important for the sector very important we had thousands of Indians visiting the fair we had created even a fast track mechanism for the reasons with the embassy. Hence, we think India and the market can become much more important in in the next coming years.
Maybe there is direct competition with China? Probably for the moment, of course, China is still ahead because they started 20–30 years before they specialized in this sector, but in the last few years, even before Covid China has become a more expensive market because salaries, of course, as in all countries, have increased with the years.
So India could become, in the next year, the first market. Probably China will specialize in other sectors like EV, electrical, machinery, and electrical parts. And India can have its own specialization in a different from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey, or any other country.
Even India is very important because it has a very big internal market. It's not only for re-export, but it's as it is in China. India has a very important internal market, which can be part of the production that is being done in India. But even though there is a strong belief on green technologies or recycling water,. So I see a very strong sensitivity to these green technologies in India.
About the ITA Event
Italian textile machinery makers visit India (Delhi & Mumbai) on April 9th & 11th to showcase latest technologies. Free workshops for textile & nonwovens industry decision-makers to learn about sustainable and efficient solutions, are held at the Hyatt Regency (Delhi) & Hyatt Centric Juhu (Mumbai).
Decision-makers and experts from the textile and nonwovens industry in India have the chance to inform themselves about the latest textile machinery solutions to make their textile business and products more sustainable and efficient.
Links with Indian textile industry
The textile sector is of great significance in the Indian economy, contributing more than 2 percent of the GDP and allowing the country to be the world's third-largest exporter of textile and apparel items.
India represents the third largest foreign market for the Italian textile machinery industry In 2022, the Asian Country imported Italian textile machinery for a total value of about 200 million euro. Referring to the first 9 months of 2021, the value shows a slight decrease compared to the value for the same period of the previous year.
