GLOBAL: Pakistan outdoes India in US and EU Textile Markets

According to the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) study, India’s prices of textiles and clothing which witnessed a declining trend in the quota period, hardened in the post-quota period in the EU market. As a result, India’s share in the EU textile imports from the world declined from 7.9 per cent to 7.5 per cent between 1995 and 2007.

In the US market, even though India’s average price for textile exports declined in the post-quota period they are still higher than China’s and Pakistan’s prices, according to the study. But here also, India’s share did not increase significantly.

India’s share in the US global imports of textiles and clothing increased by merely 1.6 per cent between 1995 and 2007, whereas that of Vietnam increased from 0.04 to 4.7 per cent and that of China went up from 11 per cent to 33.5 per cent in the same period. Even Bangladesh seems to be catching up fast in both EU and the US market vis-‡-vis Indian prices.

India was the third largest exporter of textiles and clothing in the US market. However, in value terms, the country’s exports were just 1/6th of China which was the largest supplier in the US market.

Also, the FICCI study noted that in terms of volume, Pakistan was the second largest exporter of textiles and clothing to the US in 2007 and India was the fourth largest supplier.

Vietnam, which exported only $17 million worth of clothing to the US in 1995, exported $4.35 billion of clothing in 2007 as compared with $3.2 billion exported by India to the US.

In the EU, India was the third biggest supplier in the EU25 market and its share was 7.5 per cent in 2007. India’s average growth rate higher in post-quota period than the pre-quota period, ie, 15.4 per cent in 2005-07 and 4.4 per cent in 1996-2004.

However, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry observed that there has been a declining trend in growth of our exports to the EU since 2005. India’s growth rate of exports to the EU was 18.6 per cent in 2005 which declined to 14.9 per cent in 2006 and 12.6 per cent in 2007.

India’s share has remained almost constant in EU25 for the last 13 years and its average growth rate (1996-2007) has been lower than EU imports from the world, for the same period.

Source: Daily.pk