Since December 2009, happy news from the economic front started trickling in. Textile orders are on the rise again. The third quarter of 2009 confirmed the strong rebound of global textile production observed in the previous quarter. Both global yarn and fabric production increased modestly in almost all regions, particularly in South America. Spurred by production in Asia and South America, global stock of fabrics skyrocketed. Yarns & fabrics orders in Europe and Brazil soared. The level of global fabrics stocks rose significantly in the third quarter of 2009 worldwide from its lowest levels in years by +5.3%. The strong jump in the orders of both yarns & fabrics signals the much-awaited revival of the global textile market. The United Nations has predicted that the world economy will bounce back in 2010 with a global growth rate of 2.4%. It has also highlighted that economic growth in 2010 will be strongest in developing countries, particularly in China and India, which are expected to grow at 8.8% and 6.5% respectively.

The current year will probably be a watershed year for the Indian textile industry. China still has an unflagging interest in placing the textile industry as one of the engines of growth of its economy. Its infrastructure is in proper place, and the investment and production increases are being given adequate attention. In India, the interest is ebbing & flowing. Two recent events bring to limelight the anxieties and hopes of the industry. In one event, technical textiles was the focal point, and it was rightly argued that India should start with a boost to converting industry laying emphasis on wipes & disposables, which entails no big burden on investment. There is a big market for this and the industry can produce cheaper goods for an ever-widening consumer base. Second event that opened the eyes of many was a seemingly commonplace symposium on green textiles. A consensus on considering green textiles as the India's lure for the big, western markets evoked good response from the industry. In this, organic textiles role was stressed and a call to keep the pricing of premium textile products under check was made. The green textiles trickle is yet to turn into a flood.

Year 2010 has begun well for textiles. Right direction signals are on. A well-defined push is all that matters.