NEW DELHI, April 12 (PTI): A sharp decline in demand for Indian garments in the US and European markets has forced the industry to scale down exports target for 2009-10 to USD 10.5 billion from the last year’s target of USD 11.62 billion.
Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC), the apex body of garment exporters, had set an export target of USD 11.62 billion for the 2008-09, however, the shipments are likely to be worth USD 9.85 billion only in the last fiscal.
“The growth in 2008-09 is expected to be flat over the previous year,” AEPC Secretary General Vimal Kirti Singh said. Apparel exports were worth USD 9.7 billion in 2007-08.
He said in the wake of demand slowdown in the US and EU, which accounts for over 70 per cent of the country’s garment exports, AEPC would be exploring the markets of South Africa, Brazil, Japan and Australia besides others. India’s share in Japanese USD 22.6 billion garment market is less than half a per cent, while in Australia’s USD 3.38 billion market, the share is only 1.22 per cent, AEPC said. Due to the sharp slump in the demands of Indian garments most of the units are operating below capacity, which has led to about one million lay-offs since July 2008, it said.
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