India's garments exports grow at 1.6%

New Delhi: The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on Tuesday said the latest ready-made garment (RMG) figures show resilience of Indian apparel exporters, who continue to navigate challenging international conditions.

On a cumulative basis, RMG exports during April–January 2025-26 stood at $13,129.1 million, registering a growth of 1.6 per cent over the corresponding period of April–January 2024-25 and a significant growth of 13.3 per cent compared to April–January 2023-24.

RMG exports also showed a positive growth of 7.2 per cent when compared with January 2024, indicating underlying strength and recovery momentum in the industry despite persistent global headwinds, said Dr A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC.

The temporary decline in January exports can largely be attributed to high US tariff pressures and ongoing global volatility, which have disrupted order flows and created uncertainty across key markets.

“Just to retain customers, many of RMG exporters attempted to absorb part of the cost pressures by offering discounts up to even 20 per cent. However, with tariff levels rising to nearly 50 per cent, the price disadvantage became too significant, resulting in a loss of orders to competing sourcing destinations,” said Sakthivel.

India has now signed free trade agreements (FTAs) with 37 countries, creating unprecedented market access for the textile and apparel sector.