Govt sets $24 bn textiles export target for FY11

Buoyed by the surge in outward shipments of textiles in recent months, the government today fixed the export target for textiles in FY'11 at $24.4 billion, 9 per cent more than the previous fiscal.

During April-July, 2010, exports of textiles and clothing products, including handicrafts, increased by 11.5 per cent to $7.57 billion from $6.79 billion in the same period last fiscal, according to official estimates.

"The government has set an overall target of $24.48 billion for exports of textiles and clothing products for the current financial year, compared to $22.41 billion in the last fiscal," Minister of Textiles Dayanidhi Maran said after distributing the Shilp Guru Awards and National Awards to master craftspersons and master weavers here.

Talking about the contribution of the handicraft and handloom sectors to economic growth, he said these sectors possess enormous potential to provide gainful employment to a large number of craftspersons and earn valuable foreign exchange through exports.

Both the sectors together provide livelihood to 12 million people and generate foreign exchange worth more than Rs 10,000 crore for the country.

Maran said marketing is key to promoting handicraft and handloom items and the sectors need adequate marketing facilities.

"We need to further broaden the existing marketing infrastructure in the country so that artisans and weavers continue to receive continuous opportunities to sell their products throughout the year without having to face patches of lean demand," the minister said.

In the first seven months of the current fiscal, handicraft exports jumped by 24 per cent to $1.07 billion year-on-year, mainly due to a rise in demand from the US market.

On the other hand, handloom exports registered a growth of 63 per cent to$116.76 million in April-July, 2010-11, vis-a-vis the same period last fiscal.

Textiles constituted nearly 13 per cent of India's total exports, valued at $176.5 billion, in 2009-10.