According to the UNCOM Trade database, India’s textile and apparel exports to Japan in 2024 were valued at $354 million, while Japan’s total imports of textiles and apparel from the world stood at $30,873 million.
India and Japan have been linked through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) since 2011, aimed at reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, simplifying procedures, and addressing structural issues to enhance the competitiveness of Indian exporters in the Japanese market.
A recent high-level Indian delegation visit to Japan included a series of meetings with leading Japanese companies across the textile value chain. During these interactions, Japanese stakeholders were encouraged to invest in PM MITRA Parks and leverage India’s dynamic textile ecosystem. The companies engaged spanned sectors such as apparel, textile machinery, technical textiles, and fabric processing.
To boost the Indian textile sector, the government is implementing several initiatives, including:
- PM MITRA Parks Scheme – creating modern, integrated, world-class plug-and-play textile infrastructure.
- Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme – focusing on MMF fabric, MMF apparel, and technical textiles to promote large-scale manufacturing.
Additionally, the Ministry of Textiles has set up an Environment Social and Governance (ESG) Taskforce to guide the industry towards sustainable and resource-efficient production systems. This taskforce collaborates with industry stakeholders to assess current sustainability practices and address challenges in adopting greener models.
The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS), under Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), is also conducting a Human Resource Development project. This includes training programs on the Japanese System of Quality Evaluation for technical officers of the Textiles Committee in major export hubs such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Tirupur.
This update was shared by the Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Pabitra Margherita, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.