Coronavirus outbreak to take heavy toll on readymade garment exports

Readymade garment exports dropped by around 4.51 per cent to $1.437 billion in February 2019 compared to last year. 

Exporters said the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will impact exports for the next few months. This is because nearly 80 per cent of retail shops in western countries have shut due to the virus. 

According to official data, while from December 2018 exports have been growing till May 2019 on a month-on-month basis, they have been falling since December 2019.

Exporters have attributed the drop mainly due to COVID-19, which impacted sentiment in the European market — the largest for Indian exporters.

Raja M Shanmugam, president