Textile exports increase 7% to $21.35 bn in Apr-Oct of FY25: Govt

India's textiles and apparel exports, including handicrafts, grew 7 per cent during the April-October period to USD 21.35 billion, the government said on Thursday.

The outbound shipments from the sector stood at USD 20 billion in the same period of the previous financial year, FY 2023-24.

"The Ready Made Garments (RMG) category with exports of USD 8,733 million has the largest share (41 per cent) in the total exports (USD 21,358 million) during the period of April-October of FY 2024-25, followed by Cotton Textiles (33 per cent, USD 7,082 million), Man-Made Textiles (15 per cent, USD 3,105 million)," the Textiles Ministry said.

Growth of exports was observed in all principal commodities during April-October of FY 2024-25, as compared to corresponding period of FY 2023-24, except wool and handloom, which declined by 19 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, the Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the overall import of textiles and apparel including handicrafts declined 1 per cent during the April-October period of FY 2024-25 (USD 5,425 million), compared to the same period of FY 2023-24 (USD 5,464 million).

The man-made textiles category with import of USD 1,859 million has the largest share (34 per cent) in the total imports (USD 5,425 million) during the period of April-October of FY 2024-25, as there is a demand-supply gap in this sector, the Ministry said.

"Growth of imports is observed majorly in Cotton Textiles mainly on account of import of long staple cotton fibre and such trends of import indicates an increase in production capacity of the country amidst rising consumption and self-reliance," the official statement said.

During FY 2023-24, the import of textiles and apparel products by India stood at USD 8.94 billion, down by nearly 15 per cent in comparison to USD 10.48 billion in FY 2022-23.

India was the sixth largest exporter of textiles and apparel in the world in 2023. The share of textile and apparel (T&A) including handicrafts in India's total exports stood at 8.21 per cent in FY 2023-24.

"Our country has a share of 3.9 per cent of the global trade in textiles and apparel. Major textile and apparel export destinations for India are USA and EU and with around 47 per cent share in total textile and apparel exports.

"India is a major textile and apparel exporting country and enjoys trade surplus. Bulk of import takes place for re-export or for industry requirement of raw material," the Textile Ministry said.

It is noteworthy that export is a function of demand and supply and depends on factors such as global demand, internal consumption and demand, order flow, logistics etc.

Exports in FY 2024 were initially low mainly due to the geopolitical crises around the Red Sea, which affected export movement during January, February and March 2024, the Ministry stated.