The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was India’s second largest apparel market after the US in 2017. However, imports from India dipped drastically by 59.26 per cent during the first half of 2018. India’s shared dwindled both in knits and woven categories significantly. Knitted apparels export witnessed a massive fall of 60.73 per cent. Woven garments declined by 57.36 per cent.

The declining trend is certainly a worry for India, since the UAE contributes 20.14 per cent to Indian’s apparel export in value terms. It’s pertinent that for the first four months of fiscal ’18, there was a 17.8 per cent growth in garment exports to the UAE. The otherwise top destination, United States, saw only a 1.5 per cent growth in Indian shipments.

Falling exports can be attributed to many reasons. The UAE’s overall textile and apparel imports have been declining for three years. The five per cent VAT as well as an increase in fuel and electricity prices following the crash of oil prices in the international market has hit the country negatively. The ongoing recession in the UAE is hurting consumer spending badly. Changing consumer shopping pattern is impacting retail business, pushing buyers to cut import orders.