New Delhi: Apparel exports from India fell
17 per cent in October to USD 603 million compared to the
year-ago period as the country lost market share to China,
Vietnam and Bangladesh due to uncompetitive pricing of fabrics
in the domestic market.
Exporters said rising cotton prices have raised the cost
of yarn, making domestic garments costlier. Overseas buyers,
however, are unable to absorb this hike and are placing orders
with China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia who are selling
garments at lower rates compared to India.
"Although demand from the US and EU are reviving, we are
losing our share to units in neighbouring nations as they have
large scale production and also enjoy more incentives than
us," Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC) Rakesh Vaid
said.
He said, the Duty Drawback rates, which seeks to
neutralise the incidence of customs duty, central excise duty
and service tax on items for export, given to Chinese apparel
exporters have been revised five times in the past few months
from 11 per cent to 17 per cent on value of Freight on Board,
while the Indian exporters get only 8.8 per cent rebate.
Exports share of Indian apparel in the US declined by
6.46 per cent to USD 2.27 billion during January to September
2009 compared to USD 3.07 billion in the same period in 2008.
But, China's exports rose 1.95 per cent to USD 17.23
billion and that of Bangladesh by 2.35 per cent to USD 2.66
billion during the first nine months of 2009, AEPC said.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 14, 2009, 15:51