Apparel exports in Rajasthan down 30 pc in October

Rajasthan's apparel exports declined nearly 30 per cent in value terms in October compared to the year-ago period due to reduction in Reimbursement of State Levies (RoSL) and drawback rates, officials said.
The state currently exports Rs 5,000 crore worth apparel in domestic as well as international market.
Reduction in RoSL and drawback rates post GST implementation has adversely affected exports, which reduced to 30 per cent in Rajasthan and nearly 40 per cent in the country last month, president of Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR), Ravi Poddar said here today.
He said the garment industry is second largest employer after agriculture sector in the country and over 5 lakh people are employed in Rajasthan alone in the industry.

Due to dwindling apparel exports, 50 per cent of the existing units are on the verge of shutdown and several people have lost their jobs.
There are nearly 270 registered garment exporters in Rajasthan, he added.

The association demanded increased RoSL and drawback rates as also friendly government policy towards the industry for competing with the global players.
"China was the biggest manufacturer of garments in the world but is now losing its competitiveness and the business is migrating.
It is important to have friendly policies to capture the business," Poddar said.
He said better policies of Bangladesh government have increased the apparel export by almost double.

Rajasthan can adopt Jharkhand model for boosting the industry by providing subsidy on yarn, labour, electricity and land, which has proved a game changer.