India’s textiles exports have been impacted by various issues such as foreign exchange problems in several countries and the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, Union minister Piyush Goyal has said that the industry is now showing signs of growth. Goyal expressed hope that cotton and yarn exports would start to increase from April onwards.
Goyal also addressed the dip in cotton and yarn exports, saying that outbound shipments were at an all-time high last year due to inflation. This year, however, prices have been quite suppressed, leading to a decline in exports of cotton and yarn. He hoped to see a reignition of cotton and yarn exports from April 1, 2023.
Although ready-made garments of all textiles dipped by about 3.5 percent in January to $1.5 billion, during April-January this fiscal, it rose by 5.22 percent to $13.4 billion. On the other hand, exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, and handloom products declined by 28.7 percent to $9 billion during April-January this fiscal.
The minister explained that many countries have been facing foreign exchange problems since the Ukraine conflict, which has led to reduced non-essential imports. Additionally, many countries are not accepting non-essential goods from outside their territory, Indian media reports quoted him as saying.
Goyal also revealed that textiles exports from Bangladesh receive customs duty concessions in developed markets as it is a developing country. In response, India is now pursuing free trade agreements to secure duty concessions for its textiles industry, which would help boost exports.
