On Day 2 of India Knit Fair, exhibitors could be seen in serious conversation with buyers at their stalls. This makes one wonder about the utility of the Buyers’ Lounge, since most discussions appear to be either at the stall itself, or at the cafeteria. The buyers are in the form of Indian buying agents for overseas houses, or direct foreign buyers from countries such as USA, Oman, Israel and Argentina.

Ajay Jain of Fabricline Media opines that the publicity for the event could have been handled in a better manner. "One should not assume that buyers all over the world would be aware of an event such as this, in a relatively unknown place like Tirupur. The buyers not only need to come to India, they also have to reach Tirupur after coming here. I find that most buyers are those who are visiting the fair are those who happened to be in Tirupur at the time for their own business dealings. They have heard about the Fair after coming here, and decided to drop in."

Girish Agarwal of Amrit Apparels (girish95@hotmail.com) feels that buyers are unlikely to spend large amounts of money simply in order to visit a trade fair of this magnitude (60 exhibitors). Another exhibitor expressed his disappointment at having a prospective buyer shooed away by the organisers, for not having a pass!

A Chokkalingam, has garnered 22 years of valuable experience in the sphere of textiles. Today he advises several companies, including Modipon, the pioneering polyamide yarn manufacturing company in India.

indiamarkets: What exactly is polyamide, and what are the benefits it offers as a textile material?
Chokkalingam: Polyamide is the generic name for what is called ‘Nylon’ in trade parlance. All manmade fibres have some negative points. It is difficult to find a fabric, which offers at the same time, superior qualities in terms of stretchability, fall and shine. Polyamide is a good alternative in terms of all these properties. Polyamide uses caprolactam as a raw material. GSFC and FACT are the only suppliers of this raw material in India.

indiamarkets: Could you tell us about the benefits of polyamide more specifically?
Chokkalingam: Polyamide offers a wider range of gsm (grams per square metre) than any other synthetic fabric that I know of. It retains very good properties from 70 gsm to as much as 400 gsm. Even at very high gsm levels, polyamide material maintains its smoothness. The same cannot be said of other fabrics. The water absorption capacity of polyamide is also excellent. Further, it can be easily blended with other materials such as lycra to produce value added fabrics. Polyamide is an excellent material for stretch knitwear, for example. We have been coming out with several innovations such as dope dyed nylon crimp catering specifically to circular knitting machines.

indiamarkets: How do you see the future of polyamide usage in India?
Chokkalingam: In places like Hong Kong and Taiwan, polyamide plays a major role in the fabrics industry. In India, polyamide usage is restricted to socks and elastics. Few people have realized that its usage can be extended, and with considerable benefits, to fabrics as well. But I am very optimistic about the prospects for polyamide yarn in India. We need to carry on the initiative to convey its benefits to the end users, the garment manufacturers.

indiamarkets: Since the concept of polyamide yarn is relatively new to India, what kind of support is provided to prospective buyers?
Chokkalingam: Modipon has recently developed a new polyamide yarn – the 70/74 24 filament micro yarn. We meet the end users, and clear whatever apprehensions they have. They generally voice apprehensions on the thinness of the yarn (this yarn is thinner than human hair), and other aspects such as strength, and dyeability. We basically hand hold the garment producers in the manufacturing stage. This could include rectifying any defects that the manufacturer may encounter, helping out in the dyeing process, etc. It is a gradual process, but I have seen several exporters catching on to polyamide after seeing all the benefits it provides.

A. Chokkalingam can be contacted at chocklingam@hotmail.com

Rahul Jain, a young MBA-entrepreneur, and Director of Sundeep Knitwear Industries Ltd., had a busy day at the Fair. His firm exports knitwear and undergarments, and is also an agent for buyers in Australia and Canada.

indiamarkets: How has this Knit Fair benefited you, as a buyer and a seller?
Jain: My trip to this Fair has been really useful. It gives us an opportunity to be in tune with the latest trends in design. This kind of information is useful with respect to launching new product lines, in line with market demands. The knitwear stalls are not the only ones we look at. Such fairs also have a representation of advertising and media companies – so one can get information on the latest trends in these areas. Some of these trends can be utilized to one’s advantage for marketing and market intelligence.

indiamarkets: As a buyer of knitwear products, what exactly are you looking out for?
Jain: We deal in knitwear, undergarments, cotton fabric, and t-shirts. So I am looking out for suppliers of these products. As a buyer, I look for reliable suppliers, who can meet my requirements on a consistent basis. These products are meant for export to markets such as Australia and Canada. Another important factor is honesty. The supplier should offer the right price-quality equation – he should not try to dupe us on the price. Even if he tries to extract an unjustified high price from us, it is not something he can sustain indefinitely. With experience, we can figure out if he is trying to deceive us. The same considerations apply for an international buyer as well.

indiamarkets: Can you tell us about something about the buying agent-buyer relationship?
Jain: It is similar to what I have described earlier - a relationship based on honesty and trust. It’s important that both have a long-term perspective and work out a commercial arrangement that is not a strain on either party. The commissions will vary from say, 1% for low value items to as much as 5-6% for value addeds. The commission is a function of various factors such as order size, per unit cost, the nature of the relationship, and quality.

Rahul Jain can be contacted at global@bol.net.in

At a time when most exporters of garments are voicing apprehensions on the phasing out of international textile quotas by 2004, Chandrasekar’s forward looking attitude comes as a refreshing change. Chandrasekar’s Tirupur based firm, United Fashion, is a manufacturer and exporter of knitted and woven garments. indiamarkets News Service spoke to the exporter on the long term implications of the dismantling of quotas.

“I see the dismantling of quotas as a positive move. It basically means moving towards a free market system, where both buyers and sellers are not hindered by any restrictions. The only thing restricting a seller’s capacity to sell should be his ability to produce. Why should there be any externally imposed restrictions? Perhaps those who feel that the removal of quotas would harm the Indian textile industry are unconvinced about their own ability to compete on quality and price. We need to pull up our socks – the phasing out of quotas has given us the opportunity to demonstrate our strengths at a global level. Let us prepare for that, rather than lobby for continuing protection.” Well said, Sir!