Coordinated Asia-Pacific textile strategy proposed

FPCCI & ECO-CCI President and CACCI Vice President Atif Ikram Sheikh has called for developing a coordinated Asia-Pacific strategy to strengthen the region's textile industry, enhance competitiveness and expand its share in global markets. Presenting Pakistan's perspective on regional textile integration at a CACCI webinar on "Textile Industry in Asia-Pacific Region: Opportunities, Challenges and Way Forward," Sheikh appreciated CACCI's role as an important regional platform for promoting business cooperation and economic development. He noted that the global textile market was projected to grow from $2.12 trillion in 2025 to $4.27 trillion by 2035, while the Asia-Pacific region, with around 53% of the global market, was anticipated to grow from $1.14 trillion to $2.33 trillion during the same period. He pointed out that the textile sector employed around 100 million people, rising to 430 million when the wider fashion and apparel sector was included, and contributed around 2% to global GDP. China alone accounts for around 32% of global textile exports.