India, with its strong presence in the chain of assembly operations, is seen emerging as the most preferred destination for international sourcing of textiles after quota removal from December 2004, said Cidex Trade Fairs managing director Norbert Schmidt. Mr Schmidt said, “The importance of Asia as a leading supplier base in general, and India in particular, is rising fast, more so when the multi-fibre agreement is scrapped by the end of 2004.”Cidex is the Asian arm of Messe Dusseldorf GmbH and KolnMesse International GmbH, Germany’s two leading globally acclaimed exhibition organisers to help international garment buyers source their requirements from India.

According to Mr Schmidt, Cidex’s surveys have shown that although there are interested buyers and buying houses who are keen to explore the Indian markets, the number of large buyers has declined with the overall worldwide slump in consumer buying”.It is in this scenario that the forthcoming Indian Apparel Contrat (IAC), jointly organised by Cidex and the Confederation of Indian Apparel Exporters (CIAe), would help Indian producers and some of the leading global buyers come together and explore the possibilities of buying garments from India.