India's apparel exports decline 10.25% in February 2018

“Already apparel production is on a declining curve with industry registering decline of 10.4 per cent for the period April-January 2017-18. On the other hand, for the period July 2017-February 2018, apparel exports from Bangladesh has registered an 8.68 per cent improvement over last year. Given the kind of uncertainty which has been prevailing due to US challenging India’s export subsidy programme at WTO, we are seriously worried about the future of the industry,” said HKL Magu, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).

India’s garment exports are witnessing a continuous decline since October 2017.

AEPC is also worried about the fact that the US has filed a complaint at the WTO about India’s export subsidy programmes like Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, Export Oriented Units Scheme, Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme etc.

Talking about the complaint, Magu said, “The fact that the US has filed a complaint at the WTO about India’s export subsidy programmes has turned the heat further on India. The withdrawal of export subsidies is only going to benefit countries like Bangladesh which is already showing consistent growth in their RMG exports. It is a drastic situation and we would like to request the government to intervene immediately to redress the situation and also allow the release of the refunds as until refunds start flowing, things will not improve both on the production as well as export front.”

In April-February 2017-18, India’s clothing exports have registered $15.22 billion (approx.), showing a decrease of 2.19 per cent compared to $15.55 billion (approx.) registered in the same period of previous financial year.

Meanwhile, readymade garment exports from Bangladesh during July 2017-February 2018 increased by 8.68 per cent to $20.25 billion, according to the data released by the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India