India's textile-apparel exports fell slightly in H1 FY19

India's overall textile and apparel exports in H1 FY19 stood at $18.4 billion, showing a decline of 1 per cent from the previous year, according to the latest Wazir Textiles Index (WTI). During the same period, textile and clothing imports increased by 4 per cent compared to the previous year, said the findings on the market performance of textile sector.

Export of all the categories except apparel have grown in H1 FY19 as compared to H1 FY18. Apparel exports saw a decline of 16 per cent this half year, largely attributed to the decline in apparel exports to the UAE, which have dropped inexplicably by 55 per cent during H1 FY19. India’s overall textile and garment exports to UAE also declined by around 50 per cent during first half of FY19. The EU, US and UAE remained the top export destinations for India’s textiles and garment products, WTI said.

On the import front, all categories except fibre saw an increase in H1 FY19. Apparel imports increased sharply by 56 per cent, primarily due to the impact of reduced effective import duties post GST for imports from countries like China and Bangladesh. China continues to be the largest import partner for India, however, the imports declined marginally by 0.4 per cent in H1 FY19 as compared to the previous year.

Assessing the cumulative financial performance of the top Indian textile companies, the report said that the consolidated sales of the top 10 selected companies were Rs 21,272 core in H1 FY19 as compared to Rs 19,378 crore in H1 FY18, growing by 10 per cent year-on-year.

As compared to H1 FY18, the average EBITDA margin increased by 1.1 percentage points to reach 13.8 per cent in H1 FY19. “Consolidated raw material cost constituted 52.3 per cent of sales in H1 FY19, while consolidated manpower cost constituted 10.2 per cent of sales. Raw material and manpower cost as a percentage of sales have remained almost stagnant during H1 FY19 as compared to H1 FY18. This reflects in the growing profitability of the top Indian textile companies,” the report said.