Textiles down on weak global cues

Data from the ministry of textiles shows a five per cent fall to $34.9 billion for 2016

Textile export went down in 2016 for a consecutive year, due to weak global demand and India’s losing competitiveness.

Data from the ministry of textiles shows a five per cent fall to $34.9 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore) for 2016, from $36.7 bn in 2015.

In September 2016, the central government announced a Rs6,000-crore package to boost textile export. This was on recommendations from the industry, and a commitment from it to raise annual export to $50 bn and create 100,000 new jobs.

“Textile demand remained sluggish, following uncertainty in global economy. And, India has been losing its competitiveness to China, due to