After a long lean spell, the Indian textile industry saw a revival in the export demand in August. According to the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), Indian textiles exports grew by 13.98% over the previous August, while apparel exports shrank by 8.15% in the same period.
Cumulative textiles and apparel exports during August thus registered a growth rate of 4.33%, over August 2022.
According to CITI data, in the first quarter of 2023-24, textiles exports fell by 15.26% to $8.44 billion. August saw good exports but from April to August 2023, Indian textiles exports fell by 6.08% from the previous year while apparel exports fell by 15.98% in the same period.
Textiles exports contribute about 10% to the country’s total merchandise exports.
Textiles and apparel make up about 40% of total textiles exports while home textiles and fabrics account for 18% and 13%, respectively.
India’s goods exports fell by nearly 7% to $34.5 billion in August, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline. Imports also decreased by over 5% to $58.6 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $24.1 billion.
However, there were some positive signs as export volumes for certain products were higher even though the overall value had declined.
The government is drawing comfort from this and believes that higher commodity prices will help boost the overall value of shipments.
The slowdown in Europe and other parts of the world was blamed for muted demand in certain sectors.