The apparel industry, however, needs to adopt vigorous marketing strategies to maintain and further increase the export growth, particularly in view of the imminent opening of the textile sector by the end of the year 2004, Kashiram Rana, textiles minister, has warned.

The minister was inaugurating the 14th India International Garment Fair organised by the Apparel Export Promotion Council here on Friday.

Rana urged the garment manufacturers to explore the possibility of off-shore investment to access locational and other advantages of Third World countries. It was imperative that the industry recognised the need to move up the value chain through product diversification and development of high-value products, he stressed.

Rana reaffirmed the government's resolve to assist the industry to revitalise itself and develop new business opportunities."We are committed to speeding up the reform process and developing stronger infrastructure",he stated.

The industry, he said, should not only be cost-effective but also strive to achieve higher standards of productivity and quality in order to meet international competition.

Minister of state for textiles GN Ramachandran, said that after the phasing out of quotas by the year 2005, the demand for Indian products would depend entirely on competitiveness and quality. India would have to face competition not only from the traditional rivals like Hong Kong, China and South Korea, but also from newer entrants like Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh, he said.

"The time has come for a thorough assessment of the trends in the world market and identification of the areas of actual and potential strength so that we can enhance our competitiveness and withstand the onslaught of competition from various quarters", Ramachandran said.