The Indian textile and clothing sector is likely to see slow growth in exports this year, especially sectors such as cotton yarn, due to decline in demand from China.Last financial year it had registered 41 billion dollars worth of exports.

China was one of the major markets for cotton and yarn exports from India. Though textile mills are now exporting to countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia, the demand from China was huge.

This year, the industry expects export demand to be good for segments such as garments and home textiles. However the demand for yarn should increase in overseas markets. If not the export growth might be flat this year for the entire sector.

As in some countries, the average import duty on these products is high the Indian textile and clothing industry is looking for support to upgrade its technology to improve its efficiency and competitiveness. India’s nearly 35 per cent of annual textile and clothing production is exported.

The textile industry in India has two broad segments, handloom, handicrafts, sericulture, power looms in the unorganised sector and spinning, apparel, garmenting, made-ups in the organised sector.

The industry is extremely varied, with a hand-spun and hand woven sector at one end of the spectrum and a capital intensive sophisticated mill sector at the other.