By Sanjay Arora, Wazir Advisors (sanjay@wazir.in)
India has the potential to increase share in manmade textile and apparel market of USA given the fact that India is the third-largest supplier of textile and apparel products to USA
USA is the largest consumer and importer of textile and apparel in the world. On the contrary, USA is also the ninth-largest exporter of textile and apparel products globally.
Over the last five years, USA’s total textile and apparel exports have grown at a CAGR of 1% to reach approximately USD 26 billion in 2019, while imports stood at approximately USD 120 billion. USA’s textile and apparel trade balance has remained constant over the last five years.
Import Profile of USA
China is the largest supplier of textile and apparel products with exports worth USD 39 billion, representing 33% of total imports by USA, and is followed by Vietnam and India closely competing with shares of 12% and 7%, respectively.
The apparel category dominates the imports of USA’s textile and apparel category with a share of about 73%, and is followed by manmade fibre (MMF) textiles, other textiles which include home textiles and textile material not made up of cotton or MMF, cotton textiles and carpets with a share of 10%, 9%, 5%, and 3%, respectively. Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats, T-shirts and similar articles of cotton and manmade fibres are the top imported categories by USA.
India has the potential to increase share in manmade textile and apparel market of USA. India is the third-largest supplier of textile and apparel products to USA. India exports USD 9 billion of textiles and apparels to USA, which has grown at a CAGR of 3%, while India’s share in USA’s imports has remained constant at 7% over the last five years. Apparel was the most imported category with a share of 48%, followed by cotton textiles, carpets, manmade textiles and others, having a share of 26%, 11%, 9%, and 6%, respectively.
Currently, jerseys, T-shirts, shirts, woollen carpets and manmade filament yarn are the major categories exported by India to USA. For Indian manufacturers to increase their export earning, USA poses as a huge market for MMF-based textile and apparel goods. Manmade textiles contribute 10% share in USA’s total textile and apparel imports with sizeable imports of MMF-based dresses and shirts, polyester staple fibre and polyester textured yarns from other countries. India could tap into these segments and capture their share. Moreover, the recently announced Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme by the Indian government would further support Indian manufacturers to improve their global competitiveness in MMF-based textiles and apparels.
