In the overall textiles sector, the segment comprising cotton yarn, fabs, madeups and handloom products alone witnessed a significant YoY increase in exports by $740 million in 2023-24 over 2022-23 due to the surge in export of cotton yarn during the last fiscal. While North America topped the total textile exports at $11 billion, it is followed by Europe at $10 billion and West Asia and North African countries accounted for $4 billion, data available with NIRYAT portal of the Union ministry of commerce and industry revealed. However, the Textiles secretary has recently said that some exporters have reported improvement in their order books in the first quarter and the shipments are likely to improve in the coming months.

The domestic apparel & textile industry in India contributes approx. 2.3 % to the country’s GDP, 13% to industrial production and 12% to exports. India has a 4% share of the global trade in textiles and apparel. India is one of the largest producers of cotton and jute in the world. India is also the 2nd largest producer of silk in the world and 95% of the world’s hand-woven fabric comes from India. Total textile exports are expected to reach $65 Bn by FY26 and are expected to grow at 10% CAGR from 2019-20 to reach $190 Bn by 2025-26. The textiles and apparel industry in India is the 2nd largest employer in the country providing direct employment to 45 Mn people and 100 Mn people in allied industries.

The market for Indian textiles and apparel manufacturers may touch $350 billion mark by 2030 on the back of long-term positive outlook for the Indian economy and a strong focus on emerging areas like technical textiles, home furnishing, specialised fabrics and fashion apparels, according to a report. The report released by FICCI-Wazir Advisors noted that Indian textile and apparel market size was around $ 165 bn in 2022, including the domestic market of $ 125 bn and exports of $ 40 bn. Given the long-term positive outlook, the market size is projected to grow at a 10% CAGR to reach $ 350 billion by 2030.

Outlook:

Near term focus of the Textile industry is likely to shift to the upcoming Union Budget. Industry players are likely to focus on the raw material related issues and may also look for some more focus on export incentives. Earlier this year, the Interim Budget for 2024 had increased allocation of around 27.60 per cent for the Ministry of Textiles for the year 2024-25 when compared to the previous year. This was towards various schemes being operated by them including PM MITRA Park, NITTM, A-TUFS etc, apart from making allocation for Cotton Corporation of India to exercise MSP operation for cotton. Price action in local textile sector shows a sustained rise with the wholesale price index of textile manufacture standing at 135.50 in April, up 0.74% on a monthly basis and hitting near one year high. The index is still down 1.24% on annual basis though.