Festivities in the West fail to lift India's textile exports

The mainstay of the textile export portfolio-ready-made garments-showed a 15% decline

- Dhirendra Kumar

India's textile industry witnessed a downtrend in exports in November 2023, despite the opening of markets in western countries on account of the festive season, with readymade garments—a mainstay of the textile export portfolio—experiencing an 15% decline. 

Industry experts are hopeful that trend will reverse in coming months when purchase orders for summer clothes will start coming from western countries, given that Indian cotton-based wearables are high in demand in foreign countries.   

Major exporting destination for Indian garments are European Union, the US and the middle east countries.   

According to the government data, readymade garments experienced an 15% decline, with export figures dropping from $10.36 billion in April-November 2022 to $8.84 billion in the corresponding months of 2023.

This dip raises questions about the evolving consumer preferences, market dynamics, and global economic conditions influencing the demand for fashion and apparel.