Export orders from India are being cancelled or deferred. This is true especially of supplies of material like cotton yarns and fabrics. The spread of COVID-19, especially in the United States, and leading markets of Europe like Spain, Portugal, Italy and even the United Kingdom has stopped order flow from these countries on a large scale. Buyers and major retail shops importing home textiles from India have put further business on hold. This has caused considerable anxiety among exporters as production has been cut back and fears of layoffs loom large. Exports are expected to decline by over 40 per cent in the coming months if the situation does not improve in the next 15 or 20 days.

Some measures which may support the ailing textile industry which has a significantly large dependence on the international market are extending the RoSCTL scheme to cotton yarn and fabrics so that India’s export competitiveness is enhanced; extending the interest subvention of three per cent beyond March 2020 and also covering cotton yarn within that to ease the financial burden; expediting GST refunds; and urgent policy interventions in order to provide fiscal relief and ensure credit flow.

The virus is spreading rapidly not only in China but other parts of the world including India.