India’s textile export markets getting better — industry experts examine the recovery trends

NEW DELHI : The export data for the month of May showed that India’s textile exports increased by 11.2% compared to the previous year, marking the highest growth in 18 months and the best since November 2022.

Sivaramakrishnan Ganapathi, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Gokaldas Exports, and P Sundararajan, Chairman and Managing Director of SP Apparels, discussed whether the textile export market is getting better or not.

Gokaldas Exports, incidentally, also announced a strategic stake of ₹350 crore in BRFL Textiles Private Limited (BTPL) which is a separate entity of Bombay Rayon Fashions Limited (BFRL).

First up, Ganapathi said that the diversification away from China started with a little more aggression and that is because when the brands were buying less there was very little to diversify away from, but now that they are buying again, they are looking at increasing the allocation for Indian region.

“Bangladesh is also maxing out and there is some degree of preference for India and these macroeconomic moves are helping the country,” Ganapati  added.

Discussing investment in BTPL, he said, “We have invested in the company and there is a possibility that sometime in the future we may even acquire it. So that option exists, and we will evaluate the same as we go forward.”

Meanwhile, Sundararajan said that de-risking from Bangladesh and China Plus 1 is working for the Indian textile industry. “Most of the business is coming to India and Sri Lanka because too much of orders are placed in Bangladesh,” he said.

According to him, retailers would love to move more business from China to India and Sri Lanka – that process has started now and for the coming season, orders are placed in India and Sri Lanka. So, risk mitigation in Bangladesh and China Plus 1 is working.