INDIA: India Apparel Exports suffer on surging input costs.
Rising cotton yarn prices has taken its toll on the apparel industry in India, with apparel exports possibly getting diminished to reach $10.2 bn in value in 2010-11 which is a 3% Y-O-Y decline.
Egytex News Desk
Source: www.commodityonline.com
However, export growth is positive since August, though until July the trend was negative registering a 6% decline Y-O-Y over the same period, to $5.7 billion, said data from AEPC (Apparel Export Promotion Council).
In October, the exports stood at $717 million.
With the input costs rising pushing up the prices, the foreign buyers are finding it to be less lucrative to buy from India, and are opting cheaper markets like Bangladesh and Vietnam. Cotton yarn prices in India have climbed 40% in the past three months leading to incremental fabric prices.
Government has taken measures to curb the rising prices even to the point of sparking a commodity war with Pakistan which saw India scrapping 1 million bales of cotton orders from Pakistan textile industry and Pakistan retaliating by blocking onion exports to India.
Currently 55 lakh bales of cotton have been allowed to be exported of which 38 lakh bales already getting shipped.
With 80% of the apparel export industry driven by US and EU requirements, the sector employs about 3.5 million people in India. Double the figure and you will get the total number of people employed by the textile industry in India.
Source: www.commodityonline.com
From the Egytex news archive, first published on 24 January 2011. Figures and names are as reported at the time.
