Latest data suggests that India’s overall textile and garment exports including jute, coir, handicrafts and handlooms will not only miss the initial official growth target of 15 per cent for 2014-15 but fall short of the 5 per cent expansion rate. The government had initially set the export target at $45 billion for 2014-15, compared with the actual exports of $39.3 billion in the previous fiscal.

The latest official data points out that the overall textile and garment exports has grown by just 1.7 per cent touching $35.29 billion during the April-February period, compared with $34.72 billion a year before, while imports have risen by 14.2 per cent during the period. Exports of fibres declined over 36 per cent up to February last fiscal, while some other textile items witnessing just a 0.4 per cent rise, owing to low demand from China. Exports of raw cotton, including waste, dropped almost 47 per cent during the April-February period from a year before. The only major growth se4gment has been the garment exports, witnessing a 13.4 per cent rise between April and February from a year earlier.

Industry experts such as DK Nair, the secretary-general of the Confederation of the Indian Textile Industry suggest that Indian exporters should explore opportunities in countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia, who import textile items in large volumes for converting them into finished goods.

Imports of textiles increased to $5.57 billion between April and February, compared with $4.87 billion a year before. Declining textile export also impacted industrial production data. According to the index of industrial production data, the textile segment grew just 2.4 per cent from the April-February period from a year before.

www.citiindia.com