Apparel exports from India were to the tune of $1190 million in October 2013-14, registering a record increase of 30.91 per cent over the corresponding month of last year. In rupee terms, exports increased by 53.3 per cent during the month.
Releasing the export figures, Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), has, in a press release, 
stated: “Our efforts and investments in the right markets, coupled with the Government support, have paid the dividends. It was indeed a difficult time. However, we kept on looking for better and newer markets, kept innovating our products as well as making robust our compliance practices. With the continued support of the Government, apparel exports will be meeting the target set by the Government”.
Apparel exports in dollar terms during April-October of 2013-14 increased by 15.5 per cent at Rs. 49,096 crores compared to Rs. 38,911 crores in the same period last year.
Referring to US imports, Dr. Sakthivel said: “Overall apparel imports of the US witnessed an increase of 3.7 per cent in January-September of 2013 over the previous year, amounting to $61.1 billion. US imports of Indian apparel moved up by five per cent and reached $2542 million against $2420 million in January-September 2012. US imports saw an increase from all major suppliers during January-September 2013 over the corresponding period of last year, except from Mexico. In January-September 2013, India was in the sixth position, having exported $238 million worth of apparel in September, which represented an increase of 15 per cent over the same month of previous year”.
With regard to apparel imports into the EU, which is the biggest trading partner of India, he observed that its overall imports amounted to $47.8 billion during January-July 2013, with no increase over the previous year. India’s exports to the EU during the period totalled $3.4 billion, marking an one per cent increase over the same period of the previous year.
On the region-wise RMG exports, he said: “The EU is the top-most RMG export destination for India during April-August 2013 with the total volume touching $2384.5 million, followed by the North American region where exports were to the tune of $1476.58 million. West Asia is the third largest regional apparel export destination of India with $1043.33 million for the same period”.
In terms of the apparel export growth during April-August 2013, the highest growth was registered by the South-East Asian region, followed by West Asia, North America, the EU, Latin America and Southern Africa. Apparel exports to South Asia registered a decline during the period. This may be attributed to the regional competition among the countries in the region as they themselves are significant suppliers of apparel to the world market.
According to Dr. Sakthivel, readymade garments is an employment generating sector, and small and medium exporters are facing severe credit crunch due to the high cost of credit and rising inflation. Hence the need for a separate chapter for pre/post packing credit rate of 7.5 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should consider the issue more seriously so that the garment export growth momentum is maintained. Any incentive offered to the sector has the big potential of employment generation, spurring manufacturing in the process.