Business

Govt. Cuts India's T&C Export Target To US$ 45 Bln

The government has trimmed the textile and clothing export target to US$ 45 billion for the current fiscal. Total shipments in the last fiscal missed the initial target of US$ 48.5 billion by a huge margin.

The target for 2017-18 represents a 17% rise from the actual level of US$ 38.6 billion in 2016-17, according to provisional official estimates. While garment exports witnessed a marginal rise from the year before, textile exports dropped in the last fiscal. In 2015-16, the overall textile and garment exports were to the tune of US$ 40 billion. The exports were way off the target in the last fiscal, as demand from China - especially for cotton and yarn - was tepid and recovery in the developed markets like the US and the EU still remained fragile. Stiff competition from countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan - with zero-duty access to some of the key markets - added to the woes of Indian exporters. For its part, the textile ministry has sought a quick resolution of the India-EU free trade agreement, which would pave the way for duty-free access of Indian textile and garment items to the EU, which account for more than a third of the country's garment exports, official sources said.

Knitwear sector package will be announced soon

After a Rs 6,000-crore package for the garments sector in June 2016, the textile ministry is planning to come up with another package for the knitwear sector that is struggling to cope with financial stress, resulting in lower productivity than countries like China.

Outlining the achievements of her ministry, textile minister Smriti Irani said, "We will announce a big package for the knitwear industry which is facing several challenges, in the next one month or so." Irani, however, didn't offer much details on the package. There was no announcement of any time frame for the proposed National Textiles Policy.

Rs 1,900 crore approved for RoSL

The government has provided Rs1,900 crore so far for a new duty drawback scheme that was announced as part of a special package for the garments industry in June last year (after the 2016-17 Budget was presented).