Shipments from China and even Pakistan reach Bangladesh speedily compared to those from India, said Navneet Bhagat, MD of Bangladesh-based Simba Fashions, a leading garment producer and an importer of fabrics.

Lack of speedy clearance by Customs authorities is one of the key bottlenecks why importers choose countries like China and Pakistan over India, say industry players.

"We hear trucks are awaiting clearance at border by Customs authorities. For Ban-gladesh-based importers, getting raw materials from China and even Pakistan is faster than getting from India," Bhagat said on the sidelines of Farm To Fashion, an expo organized by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Maskati Market Kapad Mahajan in city.

While the expo aimed at developing entire value chain in textile sector in India, Bhagat suggested that if logistics bottlenecks are streamlined, importers from Bangladesh would choose fabrics from India rather than from China or Pakistan.

Gujarat government and GCCI wants Gujarat to be a hub for manufacturing garments as it has all the basic building blocks needed. "Gujarat is the largest producer of cotton. There are spinning units but the fibres to Tamil Nadu to manufacture fabrics and it comes again to Gujarat for processing. This is a huge cost. If everything is done locally, there is huge potential to set up a robust garment industry in Gujarat," said Shailesh Patwari, president of GCCI.

Gujarat government has come out with a Textile Policy, which seems to be attractive, said Bhagat and his company will go through it in detail, based on which it can even set up a garment manufacturing unit in Gujarat. "I just knew the provisions of the policy in Gujarat. The 'Plug and Play' system seems to be very lucrative. There is also financial assistance for workers. We will study in detail and may even invest. Initially, it could be on a smaller scale," said Bhagat. Bangladesh imports both fabrics and electricity from India and if the policy is lucrative, it makes sense to manufacture in Gujarat.

ISSUES GALORE

Lack of speedy Customs clearance is one of the key bottlenecks why importers choose countries like China and Pakistan over India, say industry players. If these bottlenecks are streamlined, importers from Bangladesh would choose fabrics from India