India’s Exports of Textile & Apparel
India’s T&A exports have almost been stagnant during the last 10 years. During 2024-25, India’s T&A exports stood at about US$ 37.0 bn which was about 6% higher compared to exports of 2023-24 but almost similar to exports figure of 2015-16. Trade analysis shows that India’s exports of apparels have reduced from 17 bn in 2015-16 to 16 bn in 2024-25.
Figure 1: India’s Export of Textile & Apparel (in US$ Bn.)
Source: DGCI&S & CITI Analysis
During 2024-25, Apparel was the largest exported T&A category from India with a share of about 43.4% in total T&A exports followed by Home Textiles and Fabric with a share of 17.6% and 14.0% respectively. Category wise share of exports of T&A commodities is shown in figure 2.
Figure 2: Share of Major T&A categories exported in 2024-25
Source: DGCI&S & CITI Analysis
Top 20 categories exported in 2024
The top 20 commodities (HS-4) have a share of about 71.6% in total textile and apparel exports of India. The exports of these top 20 commodities are given in table 2:
Table 1: India’s Top 20 Exported Textile & Apparel Categories (US$ Million)
| S No | HS Code | Product label | 2015 | 2024 | CAGR | Share 2024 |
| 1 | 5205 | Cotton yarn other than sewing thread, containing >= 85% cotton by weight | 3,735.93 | 3,357.50 | -1.18% | 9.15% |
| 2 | 6204 | Women’s or girls’ suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, etc. | 2,685.92 | 3,023.16 | 1.32% | 8.24% |
| 3 | 6109 | T-shirts, singlets and other vests, knitted or crocheted | 2,857.58 | 2,325.13 | -2.27% | 6.33% |
| 4 | 6302 | Bedlinen, table linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen of all types of textile materials | 1,426.83 | 2,055.38 | 4.14% | 5.60% |
| 5 | 6304 | Articles for interior furnishing, of all types of textile materials | 1,649.98 | 1,981.26 | 2.05% | 5.40% |
| 6 | 5208 | Woven fabrics of cotton, containing >= 85% cotton by weight and weighing <= 200 g/m² | 1,013.45 | 1,156.75 | 1.48% | 3.15% |
| 7 | 6203 | Men’s or boys’ suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches, etc. | 1,193.71 | 1,115.28 | -0.75% | 3.04% |
| 8 | 6206 | Women’s or girls’ blouses, shirts and shirt-blouses (excl. knitted or crocheted and vests) | 1,633.51 | 1,102.98 | -4.27% | 3.00% |
| 9 | 6305 | Sacks and bags, of a kind used for the packing of goods, of all types of textile materials | 630.90 | 1,081.33 | 6.17% | 2.95% |
| 10 | 6205 | Men’s or boys’ shirts (excl. knitted or crocheted, nightshirts, singlets and other vests) | 1,166.29 | 1,076.47 | -0.89% | 2.93% |
| 11 | 6111 | Babies’ garments and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted (excl. hats) | 702.69 | 1,050.13 | 4.57% | 2.86% |
| 12 | 5201 | Cotton, neither carded nor combed | 1,860.43 | 918.28 | -7.55% | 2.50% |
| 13 | 6211 | Tracksuits, ski suits, swimwear and other garments, N.E.C. (excl. knitted or crocheted) | 1,085.63 | 896.81 | -2.10% | 2.44% |
| 14 | 5402 | Synthetic filament yarn, incl. synthetic monofilaments of < 67 decide (excl. sewing thread … | 1,025.55 | 880.47 | -1.68% | 2.40% |
| 15 | 5407 | Woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, incl. monofilament of >= 67 decide and with a cross … | 1,070.25 | 806.76 | -3.09% | 2.20% |
| 16 | 5703 | Carpets and other textile floor coverings, incl. turf, tufted “needle punched”, whether or … | 522.19 | 753.87 | 4.16% | 2.05% |
| 17 | 6105 | Men’s or boys’ shirts, knitted or crocheted (excl. nightshirts, T-shirts, singlets and other … | 751.37 | 714.23 | -0.56% | 1.95% |
| 18 | 5702 | Carpets and other textile floor coverings, woven, not tufted or flocked, whether or not made … | 431.08 | 706.82 | 5.65% | 1.93% |
| 19 | 6107 | Men’s or boys’ underpants, briefs, nightshirts, pajamas, bathrobes, dressing gowns and similar … | 487.44 | 667.41 | 3.55% | 1.82% |
| 20 | 6104 | Women’s or girls’ suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, etc. | 737.85 | 600.63 | -2.26% | 1.64% |
Source: DGCI&S & CITI Analysis
Top Markets for India’s Textile & Apparel Exports
During 2024, the USA with a share of about 28.51% was the largest market for the Indian textiles and apparel products followed by EU-27 and Bangladesh with a share of 19.57% and 8.84% share respectively as shown in figure 3:
Figure 3: Top Markets for India’s T&A Export in 2024
Source: ITC Trade Map & CITI Analysis
Among the top 5 export destinations, India’s T&A exports to Bangladesh have shown the maximum CAGR of 5.04%% during 2015-2024 followed by USA with 3.87% CAGR. During the last 10 years, India’s exports of T&A to world have decreased at a CAGR of 0.13%. Though India entered into Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with UAE on 1st May 2022, however, the positive effect of the same is yet to be seen in India’s T&A exports to UAE which stood at US$ 2.14 bn in 2024.
During 2024 India has signed agreement with UK and EFTA partners also which is likely to increased India’s exports in these markets. However Indian T&A exports are facing a set-back a USA markets where they are charged at 50% tariffs (starting 28th August 2025) compared to 20% tariff of competing countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam. Moreover, the trade restrictions imposed by Bangladesh on India’s exports through land ports is also likely to affect India’s exports to Bangladesh.
Table 2: Last 5 years exports to top markets (in US$ Bn.)
| Country | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | CAGR |
| USA | 7.43 | 7.54 | 7.79 | 8.12 | 8.45 | 7.51 | 10.82 | 10.84 | 9.30 | 10.47 | 3.87% |
| EU-27 | 6.86 | 7.03 | 7.36 | 7.34 | 6.87 | 5.49 | 7.05 | 7.62 | 6.69 | 7.18 | 0.52% |
| Bangladesh | 2.08 | 1.92 | 2.26 | 2.50 | 2.06 | 2.08 | 4.27 | 3.49 | 2.64 | 3.24 | 5.04% |
| UAE | 4.52 | 4.37 | 4.11 | 2.47 | 2.44 | 2.07 | 2.67 | 2.09 | 1.98 | 2.14 | -7.96% |
| UK | 2.41 | 2.23 | 2.24 | 2.19 | 2.15 | 1.60 | 1.96 | 2.01 | 1.87 | 1.98 | -2.13% |
| Others | 13.85 | 12.34 | 13.48 | 14.48 | 13.51 | 10.86 | 14.70 | 12.26 | 11.75 | 11.69 | -1.86% |
| World | 37.15 | 35.42 | 37.23 | 37.11 | 35.49 | 29.61 | 41.47 | 38.31 | 34.23 | 36.71 | -0.13% |
Source: ITC Trade Map & CITI Analysis