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Textile and apparel, which are among the apical merchandise export products, saw 2 % y-o-y diminution successful shipments successful 2025-2026 compared with the erstwhile year. The exports successful 2025-2026 was worthy $35.80 cardinal arsenic against $ 36.61 cardinal successful 2024-2025.
The Union Commerce Ministry information points to 1.78 % CAGR of textile and apparel exports from 2014-2015 ($29.47 billion) to FY 26. It peaked to $37.54 cardinal successful 2021-2022. And the maturation falling 2 % past fiscal year.
According to information compiled by the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) based connected the authorities statistics, exports were $ 37 cardinal successful 2014-2015, crossed $40 cardinal successful 2021-2022, fell to $36.44 cardinal successful 2024-2025 and closed FY 26 astatine $35.78 billion.
There are aggregate factors that are affecting exports successful the past 12 years and chiefly successful the past 2 years, accidental manufacture sources.
“We request to instrumentality into information the speech complaint successful 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. The rupee was astatine 86.60 connected April 2, 2025 and ended 2025-2026 astatine 94.83 connected March 31 this year,” said an export promotion assembly official, who did not privation to beryllium identified.
“When the U.S. orders fell successful 2025-2026, request from China, Bangladesh and Sri Lank improved. There was a determination equilibrium to immoderate extent. In presumption of volume, exports whitethorn person grown marginally betwixt 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 though determination were terrible proviso concatenation disruptions,” said Siddhartha Rajagopal, enforcement manager of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council.
“Though exports to Africa changeable up for a fewer months past fiscal, it was 1 of the astir uncertain periods for the textile and garment exporters,” said K. Sakthivel, president of the Powerloom Development Export Promotion Council. “We are successful Japan present and talking to buyers. We volition get a amended representation successful the coming days,” helium said.
Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council A. Sakthivel said that though orders from the US, which is among the apical 3 markets for Indian exporters, saw respective challenges successful 2025-2026 due to the fact that of the tariff threat, “The buyers did not spell distant totally. Some of them reduced the prices, immoderate of them shifted portion of the orders, and immoderate waited. So, determination were inactive orders going to the US past year. Now, the suppliers are expecting to get tariff refunds astatine slightest to immoderate extent,” helium said.
The Council plans to bid buyer-seller meets from September successful the EU countries to pat the opportunities that volition travel with the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement, helium added.
Regarding semipermanent export performance, the manufacture officials accidental that erstwhile the rupee was astir 65 successful 2014-2015, the yearly textile and garment exports past were astir $30 billion, going by the Commerce Ministry statistics. With the Indian rupee astatine astir 95 successful 2025-2026, the exports are astatine $35 billion. Basically, exports are not increasing and apparel shipments person seen large impact, particularly successful the past mates of years. This is felt much by the MSME exporters, they said.
There are immoderate successful the manufacture who consciousness that successful presumption of measurement of exports betwixt 2014-2015 and 2025-2026, determination could person been a one-third drop.
Indian Chamber of Commerce, National Expert Committee connected Textiles caput Sanjay K Jain said that apparel export degrowth successful May (12.98 %) is partially owed to westbound Asia slowing down and besides due to the fact that of the higher basal of 2024-2025 due to the fact that of the unreserved successful orders to conscionable the tariff deadline.
The manufacture is hoping for a revival of the marketplace successful the coming weeks with the FTAs and extremity of the U.S.-Iran war.
