India among fastest growing markets for US apparels

30 Jul '12

2 min read

India has made it to the list of countries that are fastest growing markets for the US clothing exports, as per the data from the US Department of Commerce.

From January to May 2012, US garment exports to India rose by more than 36 percent year-on-year, making India the third fastest growing markets for US apparels, behind Australia and Hong Kong.

Coats and jackets for men, and shorts, pants and slacks for women were the main clothing items imported by India from the US during the first five months of the current year.

However, the volume of India’s garment exports from the US was comparatively small at US$ 20.32 million during the five-month period.

The continuing economic downturn in the US is severely affecting the competitiveness of the US textile and apparel industry, and hence, the rise in India’s apparel imports may have come as a surprise to many.

Moreover, the Indian rupee has depreciated by over 20 percent against the US dollar over the past few months, and this would also make the US exports to India more costly.

So, logically the rise in India’s apparel imports from the US should not have occurred. But some experts are not amazed at the new trend. They say most of India’s clothing imports from the US could be premium designer wear that are sold on high-streets in the metros.

Although there has been a phenomenal rise in the US clothing exports to India, the textile and apparel balance of trade continues to be substantially in favour of India.

Last year, while India exported total textiles and apparels worth US$ 5.93 billion to the US, its imports were worth mere $ 165 million.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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