India’s apparel exports fell by 40.75 per cent in October 2017 compared to the same month of the previous year.

Exports of manmade textiles, including yarn, fabric, made-ups etc during the month dropped 8.26 per cent. However, exports of cotton textiles, including yarn, fabric, made-ups, handloom products etc increased by 2.21 per cent.

Exports of jute products, including floor covering, grew by 6.29 per cent while carpet exports dropped 33.03 per cent.

Overall, India’s exports of goods in October 2017 fell by 3.59 per cent compared to October 2016. This brings to an end a 13-month run of continuous increase in exports.

The main reason for the decline in exports is the implementation of GST which led to a shortfall in working capital with exporters.

Cumulative value of exports for the period April-October 2017-18 registered a positive growth of 5.63 per cent over the same period last year.

The value of imports during October 2017 was 4.91 per cent higher over import value in October 2016. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-October 2017-18 registered a positive growth of 17.77 per cent over the same period last year.

In future, India’s apparel exports are expected to increase considerably. Total exports of textiles and apparel are expected to touch 82 billion dollars by 2021.