In October 2025, India’s textile and apparel exports continued to show a downward trend, marking the second month of decline following the introduction of a 50 percent reciprocal tariff imposed in August. Exports in this sector fell by 12.91 percent in October after a previous decline of 10.34 percent in September. For the first seven months of the 2025–26 fiscal year (April to March), India’s textile and apparel exports experienced a drop of 1.57 percent.
During October 2025, shipments totaled $2.666 billion, a significant decrease from the $3.061 billion reported in October 2024. Cumulatively, total exports in the textile and apparel sector stood at $20.401 billion from April to October 2025, in contrast to $20.728 billion for the same timeframe last year.
According to a report by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), both segments—textiles and apparel—saw a considerable decline in October 2025. Apparel exports fell by 12.88 percent to $1,069.42 million from $1,227.58 million in October 2024, while textile exports dropped by 12.92 percent, decreasing to $1,596.99 million from $1,833.96 million.
In the earlier months of April to September 2025, apparel exports rose slightly by 1.13 percent, reaching $8.832 billion compared to $8.733 billion the previous year. On the other hand, textile exports decreased by 3.54 percent, falling to $11.569 billion from $11.994 billion.
The share of textile and apparel exports within India’s total merchandise exports fell to 8.02 percent during April to September 2025, down from 8.20 percent in the same period a year earlier, reflecting the latest trade data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Within the textiles category, exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, and handloom products decreased by 4.18 percent to $6.702 billion in the first seven months of FY26. Exports of man-made yarn, fabrics, and made-ups declined 1.98 percent to $2.787 billion, and carpet exports decreased by 3.93 percent to $857.42 million.
In October 2025, the exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, and handloom products fell by 13.31 percent to $906.48 million. Meanwhile, exports of man-made yarn, fabrics, and made-ups decreased by 11.75 percent to $386.53 million. Additionally, carpet exports saw a 15.80 percent drop to $123.59 million.
On the import side, raw cotton and waste imports surged by 50.51 percent to $910.73 million during April to October 2025, up from $605.09 million in the previous year. Imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups increased 8.22 percent to $1,543.67 million from $1,426.36 million.
Specifically, in October 2025, imports of raw cotton and waste jumped 83.26 percent, rising from $127.70 million to $234.02 million, while imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups saw a slight decrease of 1.17 percent, totaling $226.55 million.
In FY25, India’s apparel exports grew by 10.03 percent to $15.989 billion, alongside a 3.61 percent increase in textile exports to $20.617 billion. Imports of raw cotton and waste surged significantly by 103.67 percent to $1.219 billion, while textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups imports rose by 8.69 percent to $2.476 billion.
In FY24, total textile and apparel exports from India reached $34.430 billion, representing a 3.24 percent decline from FY23’s $35.581 billion. Meanwhile, imports of raw cotton and waste were valued at $598.63 million in FY24, a decrease of 58.39 percent from FY23’s $1.439 billion, and imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-ups fell by 12.98 percent to $2.277 billion.
