From April to September 2019 exports of readymade garments from India increased by just 2.2 per cent. Indian exports are not competitive. Textiles from India are around 10 per cent costlier than textiles from other countries. Also Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have low production costs and their exporters enjoy preferential duty access to key markets. In comparison Indian exporters face higher trade barriers in the US and the European Union. Bangladesh’s exports to the EU face zero per cent tariff and exports to the US face 3.9 per cent tariff. Indian textile exports face six per cent tariff in the EU and 6.2 per cent tariff in the US.

In an attempt to counter subdued exports, Indian readymade garment exporters are creating modalities to make a portal or a central database, where they can list their products according to categories to assist buyers. Buyers will be able to reach out to potential exporters easily through this mechanism. The software will send mailers/alerts to all exporters who produce such items and also to the importer; this would happen when an importer searches for a certain product. This is expected to increase buyer-seller interface and hence help exporters as well as importers.