Recent data released by UN Comtrade named India as a top contender in textile and apparel exporting. While China retained its top position as the leader in global textile exports, India ranked second, outpacing competitors like Italy, Germany and Bangladesh.
Currently, India’s exports textiles are worth $40.2 billion, or a 5.2% share in global textile exports, which registered at $772 billion in 2013. In contrast to global textile growth rate of only 4.7%, Indian textile exports climbed 23 percent.
The growth is attributed to India’s increasing apparel and clothing sector, which accounted for almost 43 percent of the share, the UN Comtrade confirmed. India’s apparel exports ringed in at $15.7 billion in 2013, up from $12.9 billion in 2012.
India’s ranking in global apparel exports also improved by two notches from eighth position in 2012 to sixth in 2013. Among the top five global clothing suppliers, except for Vietnam, India’s apparel exports climbed the highest with a growth rate of 21.8% in 2013.
In total, apparel exports from India accounted for 3.7% of global ready-made garment exports.