Textile and garment exports to hit $40 bn this fiscal missing $43 bn target

India’s exports are expected to hit $40 billion in 2013-14 from $34 billion, a rise of 17.6% in the current fiscal from a year before, mainly on higher shipments of garments, cotton yarn, fabrics and man-made fibre but will still miss the target of $43 billion regardless of rupee depreciation, sources said on Thursday.

According to the provisional data, textile and garment exports hit $20.43 billion in April-December, up 13.4% from a year before. This is because the rupee depreciated 11.6% between April and December this fiscal than a year before to an average of 60.79, making the shipments remunerative.
Industry executives said that the overall textile and garment exports won’t exceed $40 billion after factoring in exports of raw cotton, handicrafts, jute, coir, handlooms.

A nearly 6% fall in the last fiscal and seeing a drop in 10 months of 2012-13, garment exports started picking up since March as the domestic currency continued to fall. Soaring costs in China and problems in compliance of global safety norms at Bangladeshi mills helped India’s export growth.

However, textile minister KS Rao had said late last month that the overall textile and garment exports would at best miss the target by just $1 billion, which includes shipments of products such as raw cotton, handicrafts, jute, coir and handlooms.

According to DK Nair, secretary-general of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, the rupee depreciation has helped, the rise in demand in the US despite a slow or fragile recovery in their economies resulted in the surge in exports. Moreover, demand from new markets has helped tremendously and after a long time India is back on track on garment exports.