Indias apparel export losing to smaller competitors

This is evident from the fact that Vietnam,Bangladesh and Indonesia grew much faster than India in terms of supplies to the US market. Vietnam has already overtaken India in terms of supplies to the US at 5.9 billion in value terms. Indonesia,which was not present in the top-five list just three year back,is now snapping at Indias heels while Bangladesh is not too far behind.

In the EU market,India was a distant fourth in terms of supplies at euro 7.3 billion in value terms,and clocked lower growth than Bangladesh and Pakistan,both of which have concessional duty access to the Union.

Despite the stellar show in home textile,analysts say the loss of competitiveness in apparel and clothing segment is grim news as these products entail much higher margins for exporters than home textile products.

Initial market trends during 2012 show that India has ceded more ground to Vietnam and Indonesia in the US market for textiles and apparel,while Bangladesh has been ramping up its market share in the EU though the Least Developed Country concession that allows it zero duty access to European markets.