India's textile & apparel exports grow 6.39% in August
Oct 06, 2026
India's textile and apparel (T&A) exports grew 6.39 per cent year on year (YoY) in August 2026, as a strong increase in textile shipments more than offset a decline in apparel exports. Textile exports rose 13.03 per cent during the month, while apparel exports fell 2.74 per cent. However, cumulative textile and apparel exports during April-August 2026 remained 0.24 per cent lower YoY.
In August 2026, India's textile and apparel exports increased to $3.119 billion from $2.931 billion in August 2025, according to an analysis by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI). Textile exports climbed to $1.918 billion from $1.697 billion, while apparel exports declined to $1.201 billion from $1.235 billion a year earlier.
Category-wise, exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups and handloom products increased 13.79 per cent YoY to $1,121.03 million during August. Exports of man-made yarn, fabrics and made-ups rose 9.92 per cent to $446.51 million. Exports of jute manufactures, including floor coverings, declined 19.39 per cent to $27.60 million, while carpet exports increased 5.38 per cent to $125.60 million. Handicrafts excluding handmade carpets recorded the strongest growth, surging 29.63 per cent to $197.29 million.
On a cumulative basis, India's textile and apparel exports declined marginally by 0.24 per cent YoY to $15.077 billion during April-August 2026, compared with $15.114 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. Apparel exports fell 9.10 per cent to $6.150 billion, while textile exports increased 6.94 per cent to $8.928 billion.
Within textiles, exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups and handloom products rose 6.73 per cent to $5,193.29 million during April-August. Exports of man-made yarn, fabrics and made-ups increased 2.76 per cent to $2,050.29 million. Exports of jute manufactures declined 15 per cent to $136.30 million, while carpet exports grew 1.24 per cent to $630.77 million. Handicrafts excluding handmade carpets surged 30.29 per cent to $917.14 million.
The sector's share of India's total merchandise exports declined sharply. T&A accounted for 7.12 per cent of total exports in August 2026, compared with 8.44 per cent in August 2025. During April-August, its share fell to 6.98 per cent from 8.25 per cent a year earlier, as overall merchandise exports grew faster than textile and apparel shipments.
As for the imports, raw cotton and cotton waste imports surged 67.67 per cent YoY to $213.36 million in August 2026 from $127.25 million a year earlier. In contrast, imports of textile yarn, fabrics and made-ups declined 8.12 per cent to $208.88 million from $227.35 million.
During April-August 2026, imports of raw cotton and cotton waste increased 57.17 per cent to $802.34 million from $510.48 million. Imports of textile yarn, fabrics and made-ups, meanwhile, declined 2.49 per cent to $1.054 billion from $1.080 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
During fiscal 2025-26 (April-March), India's textile and apparel exports declined 2.21 per cent YoY to $35.799 billion. Textile exports fell 2.86 per cent to $20.027 billion, while apparel exports eased 1.36 per cent to $15.772 billion. The latest April-August figures indicate that stronger textile shipments have helped narrow the overall sectoral decline in the current fiscal, although apparel exports remain under pressure.
