Garment Exports Drop 17 Percent in October

December 15, 2009 Posted by India Briefing Reading Time: < 1 minute

Dec. 15 – India’s apparel exports declined by 17 percent in October as it lost market share to China, Vietnam and Bangladesh due to the higher cost of fabrics in the local market.

Indian apparel exports reach US$603 million in October with exporters complaining of higher cotton prices that has inevitably hiked the cost of yarn, reports Press Trust of India.

“Although demand from the United States and European Union are reviving, we are losing our share to units in neighboring nations as they have large scale production and also enjoy more incentives than us,” Apparel Exports Promotion Council Rakesh Vaid told PTI.

Duty drawback rates given to Chinese apparel exporters have been changed frequently in the past months from 11 percent to 17 percent compared to Indian exporters who were only able to get 8.8 percent rebate.

Indian apparel exports to the United States dropped by 6.46 percent to US$2.27 billion during the first nine months of the year. In comparison, Chinese apparel exports grew by 1.95 percent to US$17.23 billion, same for Bangladesh that grew by 2.35 percent to US$2.66 billion during the same period.