India’s apparel exports have not benefited from the rupee depreciation. There was a 22.76 per cent fall for the month of April.

Readymade garment exports have fallen for the seventh consecutive month since October 2017. Exporters have seen the cost of working capital rising and are experiencing a fund crunch due to delays in the refund of taxes paid.

While consumption in the international market is growing at around one to two per cent, competition is increasing too as the business sees new entrants like Myanmar and Ethiopia. Competitors’ currencies are also depreciating, but they don’t have problems that Indian exporters do.

The fall in apparel exports has led to a decline in production. India's apparel production fell 18.6 per cent in March and saw a decline of eleven per cent for the period 2017-18. March saw the eleventh straight monthly decline in apparel production.

Availability of manpower is also a big concern in all the existing textile centers and productivity is low due to huge labor turnover.

If the rupee remains at these levels for the next few months, it can offset the loss of duty drawback to some extent and exports may see a growth of three or five per cent.