The Hindu Business Line : Indian textile exports expand into new markets

Nearly a year into the quota-free regime, these exporters are getting into hitherto untapped destinations such as Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Australia, moving beyond the traditional markets of the US and the UK.

Also, the export product portfolio is seeing a shift in favour of a higher proportion of finished, value-added items, with cotton garments constituting almost 50 per cent of the total exports in the first two months of the current fiscal, according to data put out by the Directorate-General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.

During the first couple of months of the current fiscal, the country's textile product exports saw the highest increase in Spain, with exports jumping 41.18 per cent over last year's figure of $60.14 million. Textile exports to the Netherlands were up 22 per cent during the first two months of the fiscal, those to Germany were up 25 per cent and to France 27 per cent during the period.

Even as India's textile exports in the traditional markets of the US and the UK continued to be strong during the first couple of months of the current fiscal, analysts point out that diversification of the export basket to newer markets following the quota phase-out is indicative of the price competitiveness and quality of Indian exports. Indian textile exports registered a 22.8-per cent growth in the US, while in the UK exports went up strongly at 37.7 per cent.

"Indian exports have now started to make it big in markets such as Spain and Italy, where exporters have been able to corner a large proportion of niche orders, coming in mainly from the fashion industry. The items doing well include specialised products, with valued-added work such as embroidery," a Confederation of Indian Textile Industry representative said.

For instance, export of cotton garments including accessories to Spain went up 72 per cent over the last year during the first two months of the current fiscal. Export of woollen fabrics and made-ups to Australia was up 154 per cent while that of woollen garments to Spain was up 422.43 per cent over the period, according to the data.

Another encouraging factor is that the proportion of finished products in the textile export basket is on the rise. During the first two months of the fiscal, the share of cotton garments went up to 48.36 per cent against a share of 43.99 per cent during the same period last fiscal.

Man-made fibre garments, woollen garments and garments made of other textile also registered increases during this fiscal, according to the data. The proportion of yarn and fabrics in the Indian textile export basket is on the decline, with finished products, which fetches the maximum in terms of net realisation, expected to become the key constituent in the country's export portfolio, industry players said.

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