AEPC says around 20 per cent of apparel exporters in India have resumed operations with 25-30 per cent of their workforce. Many apparel makers opened some of their factories with a rudimentary workforce in April to make personal protective equipment, but now more factories are being opened and production of apparels is being resumed. These include leading exporters like Shahi Exports, Gokaldas Exports, Texport Industries, Matrix Clothing and Orient Fashion Exports.

With lockdowns in place the world over to contain Covid-19, many companies had cancelled or deferred their orders, said people in the know. Some of these orders were in the middle of production and the salvage value of these was less than a quarter of the cost. According to industry estimates, between 15 and 25 per cent of orders placed before the pandemic have been cancelled with companies invoking the ‘force majeure’ clause and not all have reimbursed their suppliers for the material loss.

Meanwhile, companies have been negotiating for longer payment schedules than the usual 30-day or 60-day cycles to 90 and 120 days, leading to cashflow constraints for manufacturers. Some have even tried negotiating for 180 days.

New orders for fall and winter collections are also being delayed as stores in the western hemisphere are only now slowly opening and the companies are yet to assess the demand. Since many corporate offices in Europe and the US remain closed, it will take longer for clarity to emerge whether these orders will come at a later stage or not.

Export business upwards of $3 billion has been impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic because key European markets like Italy had gone into lockdown even before India in mid-March.