Apparel exports slip nearly 10% in April

Apparel exports fell by close to 10 per cent in April this fiscal and exporters expect an equally disappointing data for May under impact of global downturn.

Garment exports from the country dropped to $800 million in April this fiscal from $886 million in the same month of 2007-08, according to official figures.

"We are expecting 10-15 per cent drop in apparel exports in May as well...There are very few orders from the US and EU markets," Apparel Export Promotion Council Chairman Rakesh Vaid told PTI.

Seeking fiscal stimulus in the Budget, Vaid said the Indian exporters face the double whammy of declining demand and competition from Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh.

"We are losing out our competitive edge to neighbouring countries where exporters enjoy more incentives... They managed to have a greater presence in the western markets," Vaid added.

After showing a steep drop in exports of 10.01 per cent for the October-December quarter, it recovered marginally but still remained in the negative territory in the subsequent quarter. However, situation deteriorated in April.

Thanks to good performance in the first half of 2008-09, the apparel exports ended the previous fiscal with a moderate growth of 4.6 per cent at $10.13 billion compared to the previous fiscal.

The exports saw a beating since August as the retail orders began to feel the impact of global economic recession.

Estimates suggest that the industry employs 7 million people, including 3.9 million in export sector.