INDIA continues to lag behind in the high-margin, global export market for apparels, having been relegated to fifth position in a new ranking released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as part of its International Trade Statistics 2011.
According to the data, India posted a sharp decline of over 6 per cent in apparel exports last year and was the only country to have shown a drop among major clothing exporters during the year.
As regards its competitors, Bangladesh and Turkey have sprinted ahead of India in terms of overall apparel exports, while Vietnam and Indonesia are speedily inching closer.
India had managed to hold on to the third spot in the list of top exporters in 2010 on the back of its performance in the home textile and apparel exports front, but was well behind the leaders in the list, i.e. China and the European Union. The good showing was on account of the splendid performance put up by exporters of home textile items such as bedspreads, home linen and curtains in global markets.
The data also shows that exports of global textiles and clothing climbed 15 per cent to $602 billion in 2010 from $525 billion in 2009 despite a wobbly recovery in the US and initial signs of trouble in the Eurozone.
While India emerged as the second-largest supplier of home textiles and apparel products in the world after China in 2010, it also managed to bag the third spot in the list of top home textile exporters, after China and the EU, and was just ahead of the US, due to a 41 per cent jump in exports in the segment in 2010.
Source : Exim News Service - NEW DELHI, Nov. 8