Order books of Indian exporters have begun shrinking as inventories pile up in key export destinations on low demand. Order books have shrunk 15-20% for leather and footwear, while in yarn, volumes have witnessed a sharp 70% fall.
High inflation in the US and the EU slowed take off for cotton yarn, ready-made garments, leather goods and handicrafts, impacting the pace of India’s exports in June, which rose 16.8% on-year at $37.9 billion, slower than 20.5% in May.
“The clients in the US are doing cautious buying as their budgets are tight due to high interest rates. While orders had increased last two years, we expect a 15-20% decline now,” said Rafeeque Ahmed, chairman of Farida Group, one of India’s largest shoe manufacturers and exporters, which is a vendor to overseas firms such as Adidas, Clarks, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and Bally Shoes.
