October apparel exports flat at $907 million

Top Stories

»	49% Indian startups now from tier 2, 3 cities: Jitendra Singh
»	'India ranks 3rd in global startup ecosystem & number of unicorns'
»	Tripura exported over 9K tonnes of pineapples in 2 years
»	CPI inflation eases to 6.71% in July, IIP falls to 12.3%
»	Rupee depreciates 12 paise to close at 79.64 against US dollar

SME Times News Bureau | 01 Dec, 2012
Apparel exports from the country remained flat at USD 907 million in October 2012 compared to the same period last fiscal due to sluggish demand in the European and the US markets.

According to Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), garments exports stood at USD 914 million in October.

"Buyers in markets like Western Europe and USA are not placing more orders due to the economic turbulence in their economies," AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel said.

He added that there is a stiff competition from neigbouring countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh in the US market and from Turkey in EU market. During 2011-12 fiscal, the US and Europe together accounted for over 65 per cent of India's total apparel exports which stood at USD 14 billion.

The APEC chief also said that rising wage rates, hike in oil prices and raw-material cost are factors affecting exporters' profitability.

During April-October 2012 period, garments exports dropped by 9.1 per cent to USD 7.1 billion compared to the corresponding period last year.

To reduce dependence on western markets, exporters are marketing their products by participating in trade exhibitions and holding road shows in new markets like Latin America, Japan, Israel, Russia and South Africa.