India’s apparel exports stumble in July

Exports of readymade garments (including those made of cotton, man-made and other fibres) from India were valued at Rs 8,262 crore in July, registering a decline of 15 per cent compared to exports of Rs 9,775 crore in the same month last year, according to trade data compiled by Coimbatore based Indian Texpreneurs’ Federation (ITF).

The drop is a disappointing trend, especially because Bangladesh’s garment exports increased by 18 per cent in the same period, ITF said in its analysis. While suggesting that the sector should look at itself and identify the reasons behind the fall, the association hoped that it would be a temporary trend and exports would bounce back.

During the month, exports of man-made fibre (MMF) textiles, including yarn, fabrics, and made-ups (but excluding garments), also showed a negative trend. Continuing the trend observed in the past few months, the value of MMF textile exports fell 4 per cent to Rs 2,450 crore compared to exports of Rs 2,552 crore in July 2016.

However, cotton textiles showed a stable trend and increased 1 per cent to Rs 5,114 crore over July 2016 exports of Rs 5,059 crore. ITF expects cotton textile exports to improve in the coming months due to seasonal factors.

On the import side, cotton and waste imports rose considerably. These imports witnessed a surge of 108 per cent to Rs 914 crore over Rs 438 crore in July 2016.

Import of all textiles, including cotton and MMF yarn, fabrics and made-ups but excluding garments, also rose 8 per cent to Rs 882 crore in July 2017, compared to imports of Rs 816 crore in the same month of the previous year. “Imports of textiles have not increased much after GST. We have to closely watch in the coming months on this,” ITF said.