The country’s cotton yarn, fabrics/made-ups, and handlooms exports registered a 6.71 per cent year-on-year growth in fiscal year 2023-24, reaching USD 11.7 billion.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, these exports grew by 6.78 per cent to USD 1 billion in March alone, indicating sustained momentum.
In the previous fiscal year 2022-23, these exports stood at USD 10.95 billion, making it one of the key product categories closely monitored by the ministry.
The top five export markets for India’s cotton and textile products in 2023-24 were the United States, Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The US accounted for over 25 per cent of India’s total exports in this sector, followed by Bangladesh (16 per cent), China (6.6 per cent), Sri Lanka (4.4 per cent), and the UAE (2.35 per cent).
Significantly, Indian exporters from this sector explored and entered new geographies during the last fiscal year, including Anguilla, Serbia, Georgia, Sweden, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Iran, Zambia, Cote D’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Russia.
Industry experts suggest that Brazil and Vietnam hold promising potential as emerging markets for India’s cotton and textile exports. On average, India exports these products worth approximately USD 1 billion every month.
As the largest producer of cotton globally, accounting for 23 per cent of total global cotton production, India’s robust performance in this sector is contributing to the growth of the country’s labor-intensive textiles exports.
Exporters are aiming to increase textiles shipments to USD 100 billion by 2030.
Despite the overall dip in India’s merchandise exports to USD 437 billion and imports to USD 677.24 billion in 2023-24, the surge in cotton and textile exports highlights the sector’s resilience and potential for further growth, providing a much-needed boost to the country’s export basket.
