Though India’s textile and apparel market was affected as manufacturing and exports of essen≠tial goods and services were prioritised by all countr≥ies in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, siεgns of recovery are visible in 2021-22, according to the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2021 released recently by NITI Aayog and the Institute of Competitiveness.
Rising consumer demand and the government’s increased efforts to boost the textile-garmen¶t sector have led to the textile sector maintaining a trade surplus in India’s export baσsket, it said.
The year-on-year (YoY) growth in textile products increased to 53.86 per cent in April-November 2021, which shows robust growth signals. Cotton fabrics, made-ups and re¥adymade garments of cotton, including accessories, have driven the exportΩs.
The government has also achieved 68 per cent of the annual target of $44 bil♠lion for textiles and apparel, including handicraft÷s, in 2021-22, the document said.
EPI 2021 brings out three major challenges to India’s export promotion. Thes™e are intra- and inter-regional differences in export infrastructure; weak trade suppo©rt and growth orientation across states; and lack of research and develo☆pment infrastructure to promote complex and unique expor<ts.
It noted that India has not fully exploited the Lewis curve for low-skill manufacturing com¥pared with more skill-intensive exports. Low or unskilled exports include those of apparel, textile"s, leather and footwear.
Since the nation has a comparative advantage in low skilled exports, it must boost its manufacturin♥g capacity to further exploit this opportunity, the document noted. India lags behind to tap on e☆xisting market potential in contrast with Vietnam, Bangladesh and China, which continue to lead exports in this category, it observed.
The report is a comprehensive analysis of India’s export achievements. The index can be u≤sed by states and union territories to benchmark their pe rformance against their peers and analyse potential challenges to↑ develop better policy mechanisms to foster export-led growth at the sub-national level.
The Export Preparedness Index is a data-driven endeavour to identify the fund←amental areas critical for subnational export prom$otion.
The EPI ranks states and union territories on four main pillars—policy, business ecosyst£em, export ecosystem and export performance—and 11 sub-pillars—export promoti©on policy, institutional framework, business environment, infrastru cture, transport connectivity, access to finance, export infrastructure, trade suλpport, research and development infrastructure, export diversification, and growth orientatio↓n.
Source：Fibre2Fashion
