When readymade garment exports of Bangladesh, China and Indonesia to the United States declined during January-November period, the export of the same items from India to US rose, bringing much cheers for Indian RMG exporters.During the period the exports from the aforesaid there countries fell by 4.3 per cent, 3.09 per cent and 2.86 per cent, respectively, Indian exports rose by 2.19 per cent.India was the second highest exporters of RMG to US during the period after Vietnam that posted a robust 7.42 per cent growth, according to the US government trade data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), under the US Department of Commerce. For India, the growth came despite its overall month-wise apparel export growth declining October and November 2017. Also attributed for India’s healthy numbers for exports to the US are a decline in China’s focus on apparel exports, and a weakening competitiveness of rival nations like Bangladesh and Indonesia. Indian apparel exporters are banking on a continued decline in export focus by China, which is looking to move more towards technology and capital-intensive industries than labour-intensive ones. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is hit by rising labour costs and compliance issues making it tough to please the US with quality exports. “Apparel has not come under the Trump administration’s review for import curbs. Also, imports from China are coming down and buyers are looking at other sourcing destinations,” said Rahul Mehta, President of Clothing Manufacturers’ Association of India (CMAI), told Business Wire newspaper of India. As alternatives, prime destinations for the US to source apparel tend to be Bangladesh, Vietnam and India. “Bangladesh’s business is getting hit by continual compliance issues, along with rising cost of production. China is shifting from labour-intensive to technology-intensive industries.That only leaves Vietnam for India to compete with,” said Mehta. In dollar terms, while the US’ apparel imports from China fell by $803 million from $26.021 billion during the January-November 2016 period to $25.218 billion a year later, the decline for Bangladesh over the same period was by $212 million. Against $4.939 billion worth of apparel that it exported in Jan-Nov 2016, Bangladesh shipped $4.727 billion worth of apparel in Jan-Nov 2017. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s exports dropped by $126 million from $4.393 billion to $4.267 billion over the same period. By comparison, Vietnam, the second-largest apparel exporter to the US saw its export numbers growing by $742 million – from $10.005 billion to $10.747 billion. Among the top five destinations, India happens to be the fifth in value terms, with its apparel exports to the US in Jan-Nov 2017 growing by $74 million to $3.471 billion, against $3.397 billion in the same period a year earlier. According to Mehta, while Bangladesh scores over India in pricing, Vietnam does so in volumes.
