The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has welcomed the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Oman on December 18, as it can provide a huge impetus to the country’s overall textile and apparel exports.
India is the 2nd largest exporter of textile and apparel products to Oman, after China. In 2024, India’s exports of textile and apparel items to Oman stood at $131.76 million.
“CITI would like to congratulate the Prime Minister, the Commerce Minister and all concerned officials for the CEPA with Oman, a country where Indian textile and apparel products have always found a good market holding high growth potential,” CITI chairman Ashwin Chandran said in a release.
“The CEPA with Oman will increase market access for Indian companies, make Indian textile and apparel products more attractive and price-competitive for existing and prospective buyers, and contribute to a significant scaling of our textiles and apparel exports to Oman in future,” Chandran added.
The CEPA grants India zero-duty access to 98.08 per cent of Oman’s tariff lines, covering 99.38 per cent of India's exports by value.
The CITI chairman stated that the CEPA with Oman, along with the other FTAs that India has already signed and plans to sign soon, will enable Indian textile and apparel exporters to compete more effectively for market share in key geographies. “Such FTAs will enhance market access for Indian textile and apparel exporters, help them in their export diversification strategy, and place India in a better position to achieve the national target of textile and apparel exports worth $100 billion by 2030,” he pointed out.
In July, India signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the United Kingdom. India is also in advanced stages of FTA-related discussions with the European Union and New Zealand, among others. Additionally, talks on a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) are ongoing with the United States. India’s textile and apparel exports stood close to $38 billion in the financial year 2024-25.
“As the export data for November 2025 has shown, Indian exporters have displayed tremendous resilience to the global headwinds and diversified into newer markets. The India-Oman CEPA will further add momentum to the diversification exercise,” the CITI chairman said.
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