Textile exports to US on a roll, record 22% growth in volumes

It's official, well almost. Initial reports from the US Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) show that Indian textile industry has got a fillip in the post-quota regime.

Textile and apparel exports from the country to the US in 2005 have increased by a record 22 per cent in volumes.

Though the growth is less than the predicted 30-35 per cent and is just half of China's 60 per cent, the figure is significant as it has never touched this level before.

In value terms, the growth is about 35 per cent in 2005 compared with about 14 per cent in 2004, when the exports volume had grown by 10-12 per cent.

India has fared better than almost every other country, except China, in the textile exports front. Pakistan's exports grew by about 10 per cent. Similarly, while countries such as Bangladesh and Turkey showed significant gains in specific segments, they have failed to emulate it in the overall report card.

In fact, according to OTEXA's preliminary data, Turkey's textile and apparel exports to the US slid by 10 per cent in 2005.

"Comparing India and China is like comparing Dara Singh to a Sumo "� both belonging to different martial arts form. However, Indian and Chinese textiles have their own USPs," says D K Nair, secretary general, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry.

China is unmatched in producing mass apparel products, while India is known for its high-end products.

Furthermore, size also does matter as the market size of Chinese exports is almost six times bigger than that of India's. And few Indian manufacturing units match the economies of scale of their Chinese counterparts, partly thanks to policies.

India's best performance came in the man-made fibre segment, where its exports grew by almost 40 per cent. Though China was ahead with a 50 per cent increase, Pakistan and Turkey reported negative growth rates.

In the cotton segment too, India fared better than most countries, except China. Exports from the segment grew by a little over 20 per cent in volume terms - a far second to China's whopping 100 per cent rise.

Credibly, domestic exports are also witnessing an increase in their unit value (total volumes divided by total value), says Nair. Earlier doubts were raised if the unit value would decrease.

"This means either Indian goods are getting better realisation or have entered more segments," he said. Earlier, almost 95 per cent of items produced by Indian textile industry were subject to quota restrictions.

The OTEXA data is based on the figures provided by the US Customs and Border Protection. The final report is expected to be made public within the next month.