Apparel exports dip 14% in January

Apparel exports declined by about 14 per cent to $862 million in January 2010, indicating continuation of weak demand for Indian garments in major markets like the US and Europe.

Garments exports stood at $998.31 million in January 2009.

During April-January 2009-10, garments exports stood at $7.91 billion compared to $8.81 billion in the same period previous fiscal, according to the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) estimates.

The sector, which employs 3.65 million people, is expected to close the current fiscal with a drop of 10 per cent exports. "Exporters are not getting encouraging response from the US and European markets," AEPC Chairman Premal Udani said.

Shipments from this sector aggregated $10.93 billion in 2008-09. Except in August and November, garments exports contracted in all other months of the current fiscal till January.

While India's overall exports started showing improvement since November, the garments sector has still not recovered from the slowdown.

The US and EU together account for 70 per cent of India's total apparel exports.