India? textile exports to the US and EU have marked a quantum jump during first half of the current calender year (January-June), marking strong performance after the elimination of quotas. In the US market, India? exports achieved a growth of 29.5% while it has grown nearly 75% in the EU.
?/SPAN>India? performance is much higher than the average growth of imports of textiles and clothing to USA, which is 10.98%,?said B K Patodia, chairman, Texprocil. In terms of growth, India stands next only to China. India? traditional competitors like Pakistan, Indonesia and Turkey have shown lower growth during this period.
While the export data published by DGCIS are contentious, the information available from leading importing countries like USA and EU show that India? performance has been highly encouraging in the post quota period, he pointed out. Referring to specific products, Patodia pointed out that India? exports of items like cotton yarn, knitted fabrics and home textile products, have registered a positive growth. Imports of home textile categories from India into the US like pillowcases (56.24%), sheeting (56.31%), bed spreads (12.06%) and towels (19.11%) have registered impressive growth.
He added that in the European Union, India has shown a positive growth of 6.82% during the period Jan-April 2005. Considering the decline in overall imports from extra-EU sources into the European Union, India? performance should be considered commendable, he reasoned. Here again, India? growth has been achieved not only in garment items but also in home textile products like cotton bed linen, table-toilet linen, etc, he added.
Patodia stated that with fresh restrictions being put on China by the EU and imminent threat of further restrictions being imposed by the US, exporters of textiles and garments from India have good opportunities to increase their sales in these markets.
It was anticipated even before the elimination of quotas that with the removal of quotas imports into USA would grow at a higher rate as trends of the last few years under Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) indicated clear buoyancy in trade.
