Overseas shipments of Indian garments could expand by a quarter next year, with stronger showings expected in the three largest destinations: the US, the UK and the European Union.
Prabhu Dhamodharan, convenor of the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), said in a statement that exporters are investigating openings created by the India–UK trade agreement, among them London offices and design studios.
Buyers have responded positively, he noted, and that goodwill should convert into larger orders from January. In the EU, the India–EU trade agreement comes into force next financial year, which he expects to lift apparel exports by double digits.
In the US, easing tariff worries give India a chance to recover, within the coming quarter, the 2 percent of market share it recently surrendered.
Should a limited India–US trade deal be concluded, it would ultimately help push India’s traditional share from 6 percent to 8 percent.
“With steadier conditions anticipated across these three key markets, we expect India’s monthly apparel shipments to climb from $1.2bn to $1.5bn in 2027, a lift of 25 percent,” Dhamodharan said.
“At the same time, Indian exporters are sharpening their global competitiveness through technology, automation and productivity gains, setting the sector up for a fresh export upswing,” he added.
America’s total imports of clothing slid 7.42 percent to $49.1 billion between January and August 2026, though August itself edged up 0.46 percent, an early hint of recovery.
India’s apparel shipments to the US plunged 26.4 percent to $2.7 billion, against falls of 29.4 percent for China, 4.4 percent for Bangladesh and 0.8 percent for Vietnam.
Cambodia’s however, rose 6.9 percent and Indonesia’s by 2.6 percent, underlining how fierce the rivalry has become.
India’s customary 6 percent slice of the US market shrank to 4 percent in August. Doubts over extra US tariffs tied to Russian oil purchases had held back orders from American buyers.
Although volumes elsewhere stayed fairly steady, India’s total apparel exports dropped roughly 7 percent in the first half of the current financial year.
The latest signal that further Russia-linked tariffs will not be levied for the time being has restored confidence among Indian exporters, he added.
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