India’s Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council of India (SRTEPC), India is planning to establish $300 million industrial park specialising in garment and textile material production near Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. As Vinod K Ladia, Chairman, SRTEPC, points out it is the efforts of Indian companies to take the initiative of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal which will offer a boost to local garment and textile industry.

The industrial park will focus on producing products related to textile and fabric materials. It will also accommodate manufacturers making products for large orders for Indian exports to Vietnam in the fields of healthcare, household appliances, and furniture, he said. Speaking to the media in Vietnam Ladia said that these high value-added products cannot be manufactured in Vietnam now. As a result, instead of importing from India with high taxes, now we will open our production bases in Vietnam to reduce costs.

Although Vietnam is a leading exporter of garments, it is dependent on other nations – mostly China – for its textile input. The Southeast Asian country imported more than $440 million worth of textile products from India during the financial year ending March 2014, with the main items being polyester viscose and synthetic fabric, polyester wool fabric, and polyester filament yarn. India’s exports of synthetic fiber to Vietnam went up from $36 million in 2009 to $89.09 million last year, an increase of 146 percent.

According to director SRTEPC, Srijib Roy, though India is not participating in the TPP, we have cogent reason to invest more in Vietnam to indirectly benefit from the deal because Vietnam imports fabrics from India. Last year, the Indian government approved a credit program for collaborative projects between India’s textile industry and Vietnam’s worth $300 million.