Iceland's textile imports pivot to Indian mills

India Captures Nine-Tenths of Iceland's Textile Net Imports in Historic Market Entry

$839,700 in annual trade marks new aquaculture opportunity as zero-duty tariffs unlock Nordic fishing infrastructure demand

A quiet but significant shift is happening in Iceland's fishing and aquaculture supply chains. Indian manufacturers now dominate over 92% of Iceland's imports of textile seines and fishing nets—a market worth $839,700 annually—establishing themselves as the Nordic island's single largest supplier of these critical infrastructure products.

This is not a market that existed a year ago. Iceland's total import demand sits at just $911,181, but India's entry has been swift and complete. Iceland, producing 1.5 million tons of fish, sustains strong demand for high-performance fishing net fibers across commercial and industrial applications.

The breakthrough reflects two converging forces: Iceland's expanding aquaculture sector and the removal of import duties under trade frameworks that govern European market access. India has gained preferential access to the European markets across 97% of tariff lines, covering 99.5% of trade value. That zero-duty treatment extends to textile nets and seines, making Indian manufacturers price-competitive against competitors in Greece, Canada, and Lithuania—which collectively hold just 8% of Iceland's market.

How Tirupur Became Iceland's Fishing Net Supplier

India's textile net exports emerge from two regional powerhouses: Tirupur in Tamil Nadu and Surat in Gujarat. Both clusters specialise in man-made fibre products and have decades of experience supplying European aquaculture buyers.

Tirupur is the country's largest textile cluster and accounts for 90% of the country's cotton knitwear exports. The city has pivoted successfully from apparel toward technical textiles. Tirupur has around 28,000 manufacturing units involved in various processes across the textile value chain, providing employment to roughly 800,000 people.

Surat, meanwhile, specialises in synthetic fibre processing and is known for producing durable, cost-effective nets for commercial fishing and aquaculture. Key markets such as China, Indonesia, and India heavily use nylon and polyester-based trawls and purse seines for high-yield fishing.

Large manufacturers like Welspun Living Limited, part of the US$ 2.7 billion Welspun Group, is one of the largest home textile manufacturers in the world and offers a wide spectrum of Home & Technical textile products and Flooring solutions. Trident Group has also diversified into technical textiles and advanced fibres for aquaculture applications.

What makes Indian nets competitive is familiar to any global textile buyer: quality, speed, and price. A significant percentage of fishing nets are made from nylon due to its technical advantages over other materials such as strength, resistance to oil and other chemicals, low absorption of moisture, easy to wash, and longer lifespan. Indian manufacturers deliver all three at margins that matter in Nordic markets.

Iceland's Aquaculture Appetite and India's Supply Response

Iceland doesn't fish just for local consumption. It is a major exporter to the European Union and Asia, meaning its domestic aquaculture sector is capital-intensive. Europe represents a key market driven by strict environmental regulations, sustainability priorities, and advanced aquaculture industries in Norway, Scotland, and the Mediterranean region.

Indian suppliers are now part of that infrastructure chain. Under tariff-free access, Indian textile seines—made from polyester and nylon blends—enter Iceland at the same cost as goods from neighbouring EU nations. For aquaculture operators managing multiple farms, that zero-duty advantage translates to lower operational costs and faster net replacement cycles.

India's Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said the FTA framework would be a boon to the industry, which expects exports to double over the next three years. While that projection focuses on apparel, the same tariff-removal logic applies to technical textiles and fishing equipment.

Jobs and Livelihoods: Building Aquaculture Supply Chains Across Tamil Nadu and Gujarat

The 2025 seines export to Iceland is modest in dollar terms, but it signals a livelihood multiplier effect across India's textile heartland.

The textile industry across Tamil Nadu and Gujarat employs an estimated 1.7 million workers directly, according to 2024 government data. Of these, approximately 12 direct jobs and 20 indirect jobs are supported per 100,000 units of production in the textiles sector. Using this multiplier against Iceland's seines imports: an estimated 100–150 direct and indirect jobs are supported by this export flow—from spinning and extrusion to weaving, dyeing, knitting, and packaging.

Critically, Tirupur cluster has 1,233 exports units and provides employment to 0.6 million people directly and 2,00,000 indirectly, 60% of them are women. The seines trade amplifies those opportunities.

Small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) drive this supply. Buoyed by recent free trade agreements with the EU and UK, the sector anticipates policy support to enhance global competitiveness, scale operations, and protect MSME employment. Across the two clusters, an estimated 90% of firms are MSMEs—family-owned workshops, job-work units, and small factories that source raw materials locally and employ rural and migrant workers.

Women comprise over half the workforce in Tirupur's textile operations, including roles in spinning, weaving, quality control, and finishing. The seines export, though new, fits into existing production chains and creates year-round work for women in communities around towns like Tirupur city and the textile pockets of Surat.

Competing—and Winning—in Nordic Markets

Nations like Iceland and Spain, producing 1.5 and 1.1 million tons of fish respectively, sustain strong demand for high-performance fishing net fibers across commercial and industrial applications. This is not easy market to enter—buyers demand consistent quality, rapid turnaround, and sustainability credentials.

India's position as rank #1 supplier reflects more than tariff advantage. Iceland's second-largest source is Greece (3.8% market share), followed by Canada (1.8%) and Lithuania (0.97%). That concentration behind India suggests Indian suppliers have proven capable of meeting Icelandic buyer specifications—whether on mesh size, fibre denier, knot strength, or UV resistance.

Apparel Promotion Council chairman, A. Shakthivel, projected Indian garment exports to the EU would grow 20-25 percent annually and double in 3-4 years. Aquaculture equipment and technical textiles are expected to follow a parallel trajectory as tariff removal accelerates sourcing from Indian clusters.

What Comes Next: Scaling the Nordic Gateway

A $839,700 trade flow is tiny by global standards, but it is a beachhead. Iceland's aquaculture industry is mature and export-driven. If Indian seines suppliers can maintain quality and delivery speed, this could expand into knitwear for fishing crews, rope and cordage, thermal fabrics, and advanced materials for offshore operations.

The real opportunity lies beyond Iceland. Europe represents a key market driven by strict environmental regulations, sustainability priorities, and advanced aquaculture industries in Norway, Scotland, and the Mediterranean region. If Tirupur and Surat manufacturers succeed with Iceland's buyers, they gain references for Norway's aquaculture giants and Scotland's salmon farms—markets worth tens of millions annually.

Trade with Iceland signals readiness to compete in Europe's toughest markets. For the workers and MSMEs in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, that means jobs that last, wages that hold, and livelihoods built on trade that rewards consistency and innovation.

Data source: Hagstofa Islands (Statistics Iceland), 2025. Tariff context: EU-India FTA; zero-duty access effective 2024. Sector multipliers: Indian Ministry of Textiles, 2024.