India’s textile and apparel exports grew seven percent in April-October
New Delhi: India’s total exports of textiles and apparel (including handicrafts) grew by seven per cent to $21.36 billion during April-October of FY 2024-25, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Textiles on Thursday. The figure for the same period of FY 2023-24 was $20.01 billion.
Readymade garments (RMG) exports of $8.73 billion grabbed the largest 41 per cent share in India’s total textile exports during April-October of FY 2024-25. Cotton textiles ranked second in the export list with a 33 per cent share, valued at $7.08 billion, followed by man-made textiles (15 per cent, $3.105 billion) during the seven-month period of the current fiscal.
The major textile and apparel export destinations for India are the US and the EU, which together account for nearly 47 per cent of total textile and apparel exports. India is a major textile and apparel exporter. The bulk of imports in textiles are for re-export or for industry requirements of raw materials. Exports initially remained subdued in FY 2024 due to geopolitical crises around the Red Sea. Due to this, ship movements were affected during January, February and March 2024.
The statement said that exports of all major commodities have witnessed an increase during the April-October period of FY 2024-25 as compared to the same period of FY 2023-24. Only wool and handloom have declined by 19 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. Textiles and apparel (including handicrafts) have declined by 1 per cent during the April-October period of FY 2024-25 ($5.425 billion) as compared to the same period of FY 2023-24 ($5.464 billion).
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The man-made textile category has the largest share (34 per cent) with imports of $1.86 billion in total imports ($5.43 billion) during the April-October period, as there is a demand-supply gap in the sector, the statement said. On the other hand, India’s imports of textiles and apparel products declined by about 15 per cent to $8.946 billion during FY 2023-24 as against $10.481 billion in FY 2022-23.
The increase in imports is mainly witnessed in cotton textiles, mainly due to imports of long-staple cotton fibres, the statement said. India is the sixth largest exporter of textiles and apparel in the world on a 2023 basis.
Textiles and apparel (T&A), including handicrafts, account for 8.21 per cent of India’s total exports in 2023-24. The country has a 3.9 per cent share in the global trade of textiles and apparel.
