Dear Friends,

As we draw towards the close of the 3rd quarter of FY2025, the ongoing trends signal a resilient and adaptable landscape for businesses, including the textiles sector which has been actively responding to both challenges and opportunities.

The Union Textile Ministry is in the process of creating a new comprehensive roadmap which, on one hand, aims to focus on dealing a wide range of existing issues hampering growth and, on the other hand, it looks to chart out an action plan to achieve the targeted growth strategies in a more inclusive manner across the value chain.

The need of the hour is to help the domestic textiles and apparel sector to transition adequately to align with the global challenges and requirements. The strategic priority will be to address the need for building up capacities that can live up to the ever-evolving demand of the world market.

Meetings with Ministry Departments

VC with Commerce Secretary

The Council attended a VC Meeting on “Textile sector issues and Export strategies” under the chairmanship of Shri Sunil Barthwal, Commerce Secretary on 3rd December 2024 to discuss textile sector issues and strategies in top 20 focus countries. Shri Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce & Director General DGFT was also present in the meeting.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has drawn up a list of 20 countries to focus on growing India’s exports of textiles and apparel including Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam.

As concerns the cotton textiles sector, the Council pointed that India’s exports of Cotton textiles are in line with the target for as many as 11 of the 20 countries of significance identified by the Ministry of Commerce. The data on the cotton textile exports during Apr-Oct 2024, shows that the exports are facing a shortfall against the target in 9 countries. Major shortfalls have been observed in China; South Korea; Turkey; Saudi Arabia; and Singapore. However, the shortfall in China was the most significant during the period.

While China has reduced its overall imports of cotton yarn this year, it is preferring to source cotton yarn from Vietnam and Indonesia on account of lower costs, reduced transit time and investments by China in these countries. An additional attraction for Chinese buyers is the ability to import cotton yarn at zero duty from Vietnam, Indonesia and Pakistan. To overcome the shortfall in India’s cotton textile exports to China, the Council also requested for continuing support under the MAI Scheme for Indian participation in the Yarn Expo Fair being held in China during August and March every year. Such initiatives will boost India’s exports and help the country to achieve a favorable trade balance.  

Discussing the major reasons for the shortfall in export target, the Council also raised issues facing the cotton textiles sector. The volatility in cotton prices were highlighted as Indian cotton yarn was uncompetitive compared to the other competing nations. In addition, the Banking and LC payment issues in Bangladesh was also flagged with the Commerce Secretary as Bangladesh is a good market for cotton textiles.

VC with Textile Commissioner

The Council attended the First Meeting of Stakeholders for the Cotton Season 2024-2025 held in the video conferencing mode on 28.11.2024 under the aegis of Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption. Chaired by Smt. Roop Rashi, Textile Commissioner, the meeting compared the data on state-wise area and production, pricing trends, import, export and consumption of Indian cotton.

At the meeting, the stakeholders deliberated on issues related to increasing productivity of cotton, and took note of status on organic cotton, progress on modernization of Ginning and Pressing factories, availability of certified / quality seeds of cotton and related issues.

Following the meeting, suggestions were invited from the stakeholders on fibre-based strategies to supplement cotton availability. The Council has submitted its suggestions on the impact of the reduced cotton sowing area, and interventions being planned to mitigate the issues arising out of declining cotton production on the export targets planned for the current fiscal.  

Trade Data

India’s textile and apparel exports continued to witness growth. As per the Quick Estimates released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s exports of textiles and apparel increased by 5.81% to USD 2.61 billion in November 2024 from USD 2.47 billion in November 2023. Apparel, as the star performing category, witnessed a growth of 9.81% during the month. Exports of Cotton Yarn, Fabrics and Home Textiles (made-ups), etc., under the purview of the Council, recorded a growth of 2.02% during the month of November 2024 as compared to the same month last year.

The growth of T&A exports from India can be attributed to multiple factors, including the increased market share of Indian T&A exports in the USA, as well as supportive government initiatives like the extension of the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) and Interest Equalization Scheme (IES). Further, the sector’s collective commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainable practices, has helped a lot in positioning India as a preferred sourcing destination worldwide.

As we enter the last quarter of the current fiscal 2024-25, I urge all our member exporters to make sincere efforts to boost their exports so as to achieve the export target of USD 12.5 billion in cotton textile exports by the end of this financial year.

Demand Revival

The ongoing trends suggest that the overall textiles and apparel demand in FY2025 is set to revive, on the back of positive trends seen in the US retail sector. The hopeful period follows a tepid performance in FY2024 where exports were affected because of high retail inventory, sluggish demand from key textile destinations, supply chain issues (including the two wars and the Red Sea crisis) and heightened competition from neighbouring countries.

While headwinds persist in certain textile destinations because of geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic slowdown, a gradual recovery in exports from India is expected during the current year on account of de-risking strategies adopted by certain customers and replenishment orders received from a few emerging markets.

Bharat Tex 2025

The largest and the most comprehensive textiles event ever, Bharat Tex 2025 is a unique effort to bring the entire value chain of textiles under one roof. The ongoing effort to mobilize participation by organizing Roadshows at various national and international destinations has elicited a very encouraging response with almost all the exhibit space planned getting booked. The focus now is on inviting global opinion makers, international investors, and global buyers to participate in the fair.

The Ministry of Textiles had earlier held an interactive session with Foreign Missions in India for Bharat Tex 2025 which saw participation from over 30 Foreign Missions in India. Under guidance of the Ministry of Textiles, the consortium of Indian textile EPCs - the organizers of the event continue to implement the Buyer Promotion Programme for Bharat Tex 2025 scheduled to be held from February 14 to 17, 2025.

Way Forward

Friends, in recent years, the cotton-based textile industry has witnessed a dynamic landscape, marked by both opportunities and challenges. Lack of scale and absence of right product mix has been playing a spoilsport for the textile industry. The government on its part is taking efforts to build robust textiles and apparel manufacturing facilities, along with focusing on leveraging innovation to make our offerings more competitive and sustainable. The textile industry and sector require to practice resilience in meeting the challenges and make best use of the window of opportunities to enhance productivity gains in the near future.



:: TEXPROCIL ::