Dear Friends,

According to the quick estimates data on India's merchandise trade released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, exports of cotton yarn / fabrics / made-ups, handloom products etc. from India grew by 9.75% in May 2024 over May 2023.

During Apr-May’24, Indian cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products registered a growth of 8.23%. During May’24, Indian Textiles Exports registered a growth of 9.59% over the previous year while Apparel Exports registered a growth of 9.84% during the same time period. Cumulative Exports of Textiles and Apparel during May’24 have registered a growth of 9.70% over May’23.

During Apr-May’24, Indian Textiles Exports registered a positive growth of 6.04% over the previous year while Apparel Exports registered a growth of 4.46% during the same time period. Overall T&A registered a growth of 5.34% during Apr-May’24.

New Ministers assume office

Following the results of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the new cabinet under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi assumed charge of their respective offices.

TEXPROCIL congratulates the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his third consecutive term as Prime Minister of India and expresses sincere gratitude to the Hon'ble PM for his visionary leadership and progressive policies.

The Council welcomes Shri Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, who officially took charge of the Ministry of Textiles, on June 11, 2024. On the occasion of assuming charge, the Union Minister for Textiles, Shri Singh said, “Textiles sector has huge employment opportunities. The industry also holds a large share in terms of global exports as well.” Shri Singh further asserted that the textiles industry is also linked to the farmers and there will be efforts under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the industry forward.

Under the able leadership and guidance of Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Shri Giriraj Singh, the cotton textile sector looks forward to drive innovation and growth and make India as the sourcing hub for textiles.

The Council extends a warm welcome to Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and looks forward to his dynamic leadership to support the growth of Indian Textile Sector.

The Council also welcomes Shri Pabitra Margherita, as the Hon’ble Minister of State for Textiles and External Affairs. The Cotton Textile Industry looks forward to working closely with him and using his good offices as Minister of State for External Affairs to bolster the Council’s participation in overseas events.

Meeting with HMOT

At an interactive meeting of EPCs and Industry Associations held in New Delhi on 20th June 2024.

I along with the Executive Director of the Council took the first opportunity to meet the Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Shri Giriraj Singh.

We reiterated the scope to reach the target of USD 25 billion in exports of cotton textiles by 2030. We also drew the attention of the Textile Minister to issues facing the textile exporters related to improving raw material competitiveness, updating of Policy / Schemes and other impending issues to boost the domestic sector and gain market share globally.

Once implemented, these measures will help to improve the cost competitiveness and global standing of India's textile sector, ensuring sustainable growth and development. 

India’s Growth story

The Indian economy grew 8.2 per cent in the last fiscal (2023-24), with a 7.8 per cent expansion in March quarter. Following recent trends, leading agencies like Asian Development Bank (ADB), S&P Global Ratings, Morgan Stanley, Moody's Ratings, Deloitte India, etc. have estimated the country's GDP growth to be range bound between 6.6 to 7.0 per cent during the current 2024-25 fiscal.

Recently, Fitch Ratings has raised India's growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent in FY 24/25, from an earlier March projection of 7 per cent in its global economic outlook report. Fitch's estimates for FY25 are in line with that of RBI which earlier in April projected Indian economy to expand 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal on the back of improving rural demand and moderating inflation. As per the report, elevated consumer confidence will drive spending, besides increased investments.

Way forward

Friends, with the new cotton season 2024-25 (Oct-Sept) soon approaching there is a need to assess the raw cotton situation and its impact on export of cotton textiles from India. Currently, Indian cotton prices are higher than the international prices of cotton. Considering the large proportion of cotton textile production being exported at all stages of the value chain, this disparity in cotton prices is likely to make export growth very difficult to achieve.  

Further, to sustain the growth momentum in textiles manufacturing, the uncertainty with respect to the demand side, both domestic and international needs to clear off. To promote investments in the sector it is necessary to operationalize schemes like PM MITRA Parks and PLI scheme in a time bound manner and introduce a successor scheme to the erstwhile TUF scheme.

Going forward, some of the key interventions, like propelling private investments, improving demand, increasing domestic consumption, interest rates reduction and inflation control, can help to grow our exports. While the Government grapples with the ways and means to provide a fillip to the potential in the industry, we in the industry and trade also have an obligation to gear up and create opportunities in addition to making the most of the existing ones.



:: TEXPROCIL ::