India beats China in growth of garment exports. Current Affairs & General Knowledge January 2015.
Amid concerns over several larger overseas buyers seeking reduction in prices in the wake of a drop in cotton prices, here’s some silver lining for garment exporters. Export of readymade garments from India has grown faster than those shipped from China for a bulk of 2014, although the rise is on a much smaller base.
According to UN Comtrade data, during JanuaryOctober 2014, India’s garment exports rose 14.6% to $14 billion. In contrast, exports from China were 6.5% higher at $145 billion, which in value terms is 10 times higher.
The news will come as some sort of a relief to Indian exporters, many of whom have been asked to reduce costs by 6-8% by their overseas buyers, who want a share of the higher margins due to a steep fall in cotton prices, which account for a major chunk of the overall costs.