Indian readymade garment exports fell more than six per cent in November 2019 as compared to the previous year. This was due to the delay in disbursements under the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies Scheme ((ROSCTL) and the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), exporters are facing a severe cash crunch and are not able to compete with garment manufacturers of other countries who have various advantages. Reimbursements worth over Rs 5,000 crores are pending.

Indian exports are not competitive. Textiles from India are around 10 per cent costlier than textiles from other countries. Also Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have low production costs and their exporters enjoy preferential duty access to key markets. In comparison Indian exporters face higher trade barriers in the US and the European Union. Bangladesh’s exports to the EU face zero per cent tariff and exports to the US face 3.9 per cent tariff. Indian textile exports face six per cent tariff in the EU and 6.2 per cent tariff in the US. In an attempt to counter subdued exports, Indian readymade garment exporters are creating modalities to make a portal or a central database, where they can list their products according to categories to assist buyers.