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G. Srinivasan

NEW DELHI, June 10

NOTWITHSTANDING a noticeable decline in the country's textile exports, which notched up a minus 11 per cent growth during 2001-02, the Ministry of Textiles has tentatively pitched for an export target of $15 billion for textile exports in the current fiscal, the inaugural year of the Tenth Plan.

Official sources told Business Line here that provisional figures compiled by the Ministry showed that overall textile exports during 2001-02 fetched $10,715 million, against $12,037 million in 2000-01 and $10,508.6 million in 1999-2000.

In the tentative target for the current fiscal, the lion's share is likely to emanate from readymade garments, which might fetch $6,000 million, followed by cotton textiles, comprising cotton yarn, fabric and made-ups and cotton fabric, made-ups (handlooms) which are projected to result in a revenue of $4,250 million by way of exports. Manmade textiles target for the current fiscal is $1,500 million, while that of silk is at $450 million and wool and woollen textiles $350 million. Together, these items would fetch $12,550 million in the current fiscal.

Besides, the target for handicrafts exports including carpets are projected to be $2,170 million, while that of jute is at $200 million and of coir $85 million. Overall, textile exports' target for the current fiscal is likely to be $15,005 million, they say, against the last year's actual (provisional) performance of $10,715 million.

The optimism for relatively higher earnings from textile exports is predicated on the recovery likely to get entrenched in the second-half of the calendar year and rebound in demand in major markets, including the US and the Europe. Given the various policy packages announced in the Union Budget and the headstart given to the launch of apparel parks, the possibility of realising higher apparel exports together with other segments of the textile industry has gained credibility, they say.

An analysis of the provisional figures of the textiles export performance for the 2001-02, the final year of the Tenth Plan shows that the 11 per cent decline stemmed essentially from the tepid performance of readymade garments, cotton textiles, wool and woollen textiles, handicrafts.

Readymade garments which account for more than 40 per cent in aggregate textile exports fetched $4,987.4 million in 2001-02, against $5,568.9 million in the comparable period of 2000-01, showing a decline of10.4 per cent. Similarly, cotton textiles logged a fall of 13.4 per cent at $3,040.2 million, against $3,509.1 million. Silk exports declined by 10.8 per cent at $282.2 million, against $316.6 million, while exports of wool and woollen textiles fell by 16.7 per cent to $52 million, against $62.4 million.

Handicrafts exports too last year showed a tepid growth of -15.4 per cent at $1,051.3 million, against $1,243.2 million in the previous year.

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