India’s apparel exports may decline by ten per cent in fiscal ’19. In 2017-18 exports declined by four per cent. The downturn continued in fiscal 2018-19 with a month on month decline of eight per cent to ten per cent. The country’s apparel exports have taken a beating from October 2017 onwards. GST has resulted in non-refund of several embedded taxes.
The 20 per cent jump in cotton prices in the last few months has also hit exports severely. India’s domestic apparel market has grown at a CAGR of ten per cent since 2005. Due to presence of strong fundamentals, the domestic apparel market is expected to grow at 11 per cent to 12 per cent CAGR up to 2025. The Indian domestic market has performed better than the largest consumption regions like US, EU and Japan, where depressed economic conditions has led to lower demand and growth.

The domestic market size is dominated by the ready-to-wear category, with a 84 per cent share, which is further growing at a CAGR of ten per cent to 11 per cent. The ready-to-stitch market is expected to grow at a CAGR of seven per cent and reach about 20 billion dollars by 2025.