India’s Textile & Apparel Exports Maintain Growth Momentum
19 January 2026: India’s Textile and Apparel (T&A) exports have demonstrated resilience and steady growth despite a subdued global trade environment, reflecting the sector’s adaptability, diversified market presence, and strength in value-added and labour-intensive segments. The sector recorded positive growth for the second consecutive month, with exports in December 2025 rising by 0.40% over December, 2024 to USD 3.27 billion, following strong growth in November 2025.
In December 2025, export growth was broad-based across key segments, led by Handicrafts (7.2%), Ready-Made Garments (2.89%) and MMF yarn, fabrics and made-ups (3.99%). These trends underline India’s competitive advantage in value-added manufacturing, traditional crafts, and employment-intensive production, even amid volatile global demand conditions.
On a calendar-year basis (January-December 2025), textile and apparel exports remained stable at USD 37.54 billion, with notable cumulative growth in Handicrafts (17.5%), Ready-Made Garments (3.5%), and Jute products (3.5%). Stability at this scale, despite geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures in key markets, reflects the sector’s structural strength and diversified export basket.
A key highlight of 2025 has been significant market diversification. During January-November 2025, India’s textile sector recorded export growth across 118 countries and export destinations compared to the corresponding period of 2024, reflecting a broad-based improvement in market performance. Strong expansion was observed in both emerging and traditional markets, including United Arab Emirates (9.5%), Egypt (29.1%), Poland (19.3%), Sudan (182.9%), Japan (14.6%), Nigeria (20.5%), Argentina (77.8%), Cameroon (152.9%) and Uganda (75.7%), along with steady growth in key European markets such as Spain (7.9%), France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.
This diversified growth pattern underscores the resilience of India’s textile export sector and the strengthening of India’s global market presence across a wide range of destinations.
This positive export performance is being reinforced by a coherent policy framework focused on enhancing competitiveness, value addition, and market expansion. Overall, the sustained export momentum, widening market footprint and strong performance of value-added segments reaffirm India’s position as a reliable and resilient global sourcing hub for textiles and apparel.
