After a positive trend in April India’s apparel export, impacted by events in Europe, dropped by an annual 6.8 per cent to $820 million in May.
The slump in the garment exports was in contrast to about 35 per cent growth in the country’s total outward consignments.
“We are getting less orders from the European as well as the US markets,” the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) chairman, Mr Premal Udani, said.
Europe accounts for over 30 per cent of the country’s total garment export.
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sharp erosion in the euro value has also reduced the margins for exporters.
The spiralling debt crisis in many parts of Europe has threatened to derail the fragile global economic recovery.
To reduce the dependence on traditional markets like the US and Europe, apparel exporters are exploring new markets in Japan, West Asia, Africa and Australia.
The textiles ministry has set a $12 billion apparel export target for the current fiscal. The apparel industry provides employment to seven million, of which half of them are engaged in the export sector. The garment export, slumped by 2.6 per cent in 2009-10. — pti