India’s total textile and apparel exports for April-December 2022 contracted almost 11.6%, according to the data available. In December, the exports shrank 21.5%. Shipments of cotton yarn, cotton fabrics, made-ups and handloom products declined 40.4% year-on-year in December. Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council Executive Director Siddhartha Rajagopal said high cotton price was one of the prime reasons for the decline in exports, among other factors. The import duty on cotton should be removed so that India does not lose its competitiveness in the global textile and apparel trade, he suggested. According to The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, share of textiles and apparel in the total merchandise exports from the country declined to 8.73 % in December 2022 from 9.77 % a year earlier.
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