Apparel exporters are seeing a rise in orders as western countries return to normalcy. High ocean freight and yarn prices, on the other hand, are putting a damper on the competitive export climate.
Exporters see this as an opportunity because global demand has recovered quicker than the domestic market. Major MNCs in the US and Europe, according to sources, do not want to be completely reliant on China and will move some of their sourcing to India, as well as other nations.
“Initially, during the second wave of Covid in India, international players had moved 10-15% of orders to countries such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Concerned over the situation, the exporters had a dialogue with their clients and they were able to win their confidence and orders have started picking up,” said Lalit Thukral, president, Noida Apparel Exporters Cluster.
“The sales are picking up in the US and western countries and they need stock,” said Thukral. With the surge in orders, major apparel hubs such as Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Panipat, Gurugram and Noida are likely to be benefitted. Europe and the US are India’s biggest markets for garment exports.
According to exporters, shipping prices have increased by about 300 percent on important routes since December 2019.
