Surat: The man-made fabric hub- Surat – has been selected as one of six locations for the establishment of a Textiles Export Facilitation Centre (TEFC) by the textiles committee under the union textile ministry. The other centres will come up in Karur (Tamil Nadu), Ichalkaranji (Maharashtra), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Ludhiana (Punjab).According to a trade notice issued on Feb 9, 2026, the TEFCs will be set up on a pilot basis across these major textile clusters to strengthen the export competitiveness of existing as well as emerging exporters.In Surat, the centre will focus on technical textiles and man-made fibre (MMF) articles, given that the city is one of the country’s largest man-made textile hubs. The TEFC will operate from the textiles committee office and offer a range of export-related services, including quality appraisal, export certification, laboratory testing, ISO consultancy, market research and support in implementing government schemes such as Samarth and Handloom Mark.“At present, Surat produces nearly 60 million metres of fabric per day. With a dedicated facilitation centre and enhanced export services, production is expected to increase to 100–120 million metres per day over the next five years, giving a major boost to the weaving sector,” said Ashok Jirawala, vice-president of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).He added that around 40,000 small and large textile units in Surat are likely to shift focus towards export-quality production. “Surat’s speciality fabrics, bedsheets, curtains and man-made textiles have strong potential in markets such as Europe, the US and the Gulf,” Jirawala said.The key objectives of the TEFCs include training and capacity-building of exporters, assistance in HS classification, support in preparing export roadmaps, dissemination of information on export-import tariffs, guidance on technical and non-technical compliance requirements of different countries, and awareness of government schemes and emerging export markets.“It is a significant step for the growth of the textile industry and will boost exports from Gujarat. We expect a larger contribution from Gujarat’s textile and garment manufacturers to the country’s overall exports,” said Ashish Gujarati, former president of SGCCI.
