Chennai: India’s textile and apparel exports rose 17.5% YoY to $3.1 bn in Sept 2026, supported by strong growth in textiles, cotton yarn and fabrics, and handicrafts. However, the sector’s cumulative export growth remained modest at 2.4% during the first half of FY27, as a decline in apparel shipments offset gains in other categories.According to quick estimates by the Union ministry of commerce and industry, textile exports grew 19.9% to $1.9 bn in Sept, while apparel exports rose 13.7% to $1.1 bn. Combined exports stood at $2.6 bn in Sept 2025.“Labour-intensive exports strengthened sharply in Sept. Textile and allied exports improved strongly year-on-year across cotton yarn and fabrics, manmade yarn and fabrics, as well as ready-made garments, according to Crisil RatingsDuring April-Sept 2026, textile and apparel exports increased to $18.2 bn from $17.7 bn a year earlier.Textile exports grew 9.1% to $10.9 bn, with cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups and handloom products rising 8.9% to $6.3 bn. Man-made yarn, fabrics and made-ups exports increased 4.2% to $2.5 bn.Handicraft exports, excluding handmade carpets, surged 32.54% to $1.13 bn, while carpet exports rose 4.1% to $764 million.Apparel exports declined 6.2% to $7.3 bn from $7.8 bn in the year-ago period, limiting overall growth.On the import front, cotton raw material and waste imports surged 80.9% to $301 mn in Sept and 63% to $1.1 bn during April-Sept. Imports of textile yarn, fabrics and made-ups rose 6.5% to $252 mn in Sept but fell 0.9% to $1.3 bn during the first half.
