India’s share in the global apparel trade has remained modest, with a share of just four per cent last year. The country’s market share in world trade has not significantly changed despite the depreciation of the Indian rupee during the last three years.

While China, Bangladesh and Vietnam have increased their share in the global apparel trade substantially, India's share has remained modest despite the fact that India is among the largest producers of cotton and man-made fiber and has the second largest capacity for spinning and weaving.

China is the largest apparel exporter on account of the largest global capacities across the textile value chain. The fragmented nature of the weaving, processing and garmenting industries, the low levels of modernisation, high costs of production, the modest share of non-cotton apparel and a reliance on imported machinery across the textile chain have been the key factors which have constrained growth in India's apparel exports.

It is the spinning sector that has mainly availed of the benefits of the flagship program for textile sector upgradation, the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme. The downstream sectors (weaving, processing and garmenting) have witnessed limited participation. The domestic apparel market has grown at a mean annual growth rate of 10 per cent over the last five years.