India:Textile exports for Jan-Mar slip by 22.5%, says Minister

Union Textiles Minister Shankersinh Vaghela issued a statement in the Rajya Sabha that as per the DGCI&S provisional data, textile exports, which includes handicrafts, jute and coir registered a massive 22.5 percent drop in the first three months this year in the post global textile quota phase.

However, the latest DGCI&S data shows a rise of 13 percent in April 2005 compared same month last year, the Minister said.
To sustain competitiveness in the post quota era, there has been a massive pressure to pull down prices. China has been able to endure the pressure on prices as it generates substantial output.

Exports during January-March 2005 were recorded lower at Rs 14,857 crore, compared to last year''s Rs 19,178 crore.

Reasoning out on the performance, Vaghela explained that drop in DEPB rates during September 2004 resulted in shrinking profit margins of the Indian exporters.

Even the massive drop in cotton textile was noticed as there was a steep fall in DEPB rates.

The EU and the US account for over 60 percent of India''s textile exports and both the areas have registered rise in textile imports from India and China after the elimination global quota system.

With the US imposing restrictions on several categories of textiles and clothings, India stands a fair chance to make up for the porr performance in the first three months this year. Latest US trade data indicates textiles and clothing imports from India were up 29.49 percent during the January - May 2005 compared to performance in the same period of last year, which seems to be a redeeming and cheering factor for the textiles sector.