India's Knit T-Shirt Exports Are Falling

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India's Knit T-Shirt Exports Are Falling

India's knit t-shirt exports have registered an export value of US$ 570.17 million in the Q2 FY 18-19. But the growth has dropped by 9.62% over the previous quarter (exports totalled to US$ 630.84 million) and 14.68% over the corresponding period of the last year (CPLY) (exports totalled to US$ 668.26 million). Knit t-shirts is one of the largest apparel export commodity for India, accounting for a share of around 16% of total apparel exports, both knit and woven. And is also the one with the very low value realisation. The trend of falling exports is an indication for exporters to move towards more value added apparel exports, rather than competiting with the likes of Bangladesh for a low value commodity. USA is the top export market for India's knitted t-shirts. Exports to USA totalled to US$ 126.52 million in Q2 FY 18-19 with growth of 1.39% over the CPLY, but growth declined by 13.50% over the previous quarter. USA stakes 22% share in the total knitted t-shirt exports of India in Q2 FY 18-19. Within this segment, cotton t-shirts were the most exported to the world. Cotton t-shirt exports account for 73% share of total t-shirt exports, value totalled to US$ 414.54 million in Q2 FY 18-19. But the growth declined both, over the previous quarter and CPLY by 8.71% and 0.17% respectively. Cotton t-shirt was traded at an average price of as low as US$ 0.41 per piece from India in Q2 FY 18-19, whereas in the previous quarter, cotton t-shirt was traded at an average price of US$ 0.42 per piece. USA is the leading export market for India's cotton knitted t-shirt's and the prodcut was traded to USA at a price of US$ 0.40 per piece. The second topmost commodity in Q2 FY 18-19 under the knitted t-shirt segment is t-shirt made from other fibres. The commodity's exports totaled to US$ 121.61 million in Q2 , but growth declined by 10.10% over the previous quarter and 36.47% over CPLY. The commodity accounts for 21% share in the knitted t-shirt segment. T-shirt made from other fibres was exported from India at average price of US$ 0.32 per piece in the Q2 FY18-19, whereas for the same peroid of the previous year the product at US$ 0.27 per piece. Here too, USA is the top buyer. Exports of t-shirts made from synthetic fibres dropped in Q2 FY 18-19 by 45.30%, totalling to US$ 31.33 million over the CPLY where the exports totalled to US$ 57.28 million. Over the previous quarter also growth has declined by 13.31%. India exported this product at US$ 0.27 per piece in Q2 FY 18-19, whereas in CPLY the product was traded at US$ 0.22 per piece. Here U.A.E is the top export market and on an average India trades this commodity at US$ 0.21 per piece. T-shirts made of silk is the only commodity that has done well than the others in the segment. Exports of silk t-shirts totalled US$ 0.08 million in Q2 FY 18-19 with growth of 60% over the previous quarter and 300% over the CPLY. T-shirt made of silk was exported at average price of US$ 0.13 per piece in Q2 FY 18-19. T-shirt made of artificial fibre and wool, both have perceived a declined growth. T-shirts of artificial fibre declined by 48.76% and wool by 69.57% in the Q2 FY 18-19 over the previous quarter. USA USA is the leading export market for India's knitted t-shirts. In Q2 FY 18-19, exports to USA totalled to US$ 126.52 million, but it witnessed a sharp decline of 13.50% over the previous quarter. A positive trend was witnessed over the CPLY by 1.39%. T-shirts made of cotton were traded the most from India to USA with export value of US$ 93.78 million in Q2 FY 18-19 with negative growth of 10.80% over the previous quarter and 7.43% over the CPLY. The second highest commodity exported to USA was t-shirts made from other fibres. Exports of the same totalled to US$ 27.2 million in Q2 FY 18-19. This commodity witnessed a decline of 19.32% over the previous quarter and 26.06% over the CPLY. But t-shirts made from synthetic fibre and artificial fibre have witnessed positive trend in Q2 FY 18-19 by 24.39% and 37.39% respectively, if compared over the CPLY, whereas compared over the previous quarter the growth have declined for both by 25% and 36.15% respectively. Consumers in USA have again begun spending on apparel products. The spendings have increased from 0.7% in 2013 to 4.8% in 2017. USA has nearly 6000 malls with around 200,000 shops in total. In USA, Amazon has become the top player in US apparels, as consumers prefer to buy their clothes from the giant e-commerce site, especially when it comes to standard apparel such as t-shirts. Amazon is giving a tough time to offline retailers and small shops. And this is one of the reasons for a fall in India's exports to USA. Besides, Bangladesh, a hub for knitwear manufacturing and exports, is far more competitive than India. Nigeria Nigeria ranks seventh in the top ten export market list and is the only country to perceive a positive growth in Q2 FY 18-19 if compared to the previous quarter and CPLY. The country's total knit t-shirt imports from India were valued at US$ 23.27 million in Q2 with growth of 43.11% over the previous quarter and 38.35% over the CPLY. To Nigeria, India has only exported t-shirts made of cotton and other textile fibres. Cotton t-shirt exports totalled US$ 17.31 million whereas t-shirts made from other fibres totalled US$ 5.95 million. As per reports from economists, Nigerian consumer spending on an average has gone down by over 90% owing to the depreciation of the naira. Nigerians prefer to buy apparel products in stores and that too local brands, only 11% of the consumers think that international brands are more fashionable than their local brands. U.A.E. India's exports of knit t-shirts to UAE were worth US$ 136.88 million in Q2 FY 17-18, a drastic fall of 40.76% totalling to US$ 81.09 million compared to the CPLY, and a fall of 9.90% over the previous quarter. Exports of cotton t-shirts totalled to US$ 43.69 million, a fall of 14.25% in Q2 FY 18-19 over the previous quarter and it is the top product exported to UAE. T-shirts made of other fibres exports totalled to US$ 24.45 million with a negative growth of 4.49% over the previous quarter. Clothing retail in UAE has finally taken off well. Fashion purchases made online have increased in the country by 220% in 2017 over the previous year. Rapidly growing online sales is a big threat for the offline apparel retail business in the region. Consumers in the country are looking to buy clothes only during sales, while few others have said they pay more attention to price and compare before they buy. Germany India's knitted t-shirt exports to Germany have witnessed an average trend throughout the year. The exports to Germany totalled to US$ 53.51 million in Q2 FY 18-19 with negative growth of 3.50% over the previous quarter, but over the CPLY the country managed to move on the upside with a growth of 1.77%. On an average India has exported a knitted t-shirt for US$ 0.34 per piece to Germany in Q2, while in the previous quarter it was traded at US$ 0.38 per piece. Here too cotton knitted t-shirt rule the basket with an export value of US$ 37.99 million, but unfortunately the products growth has declined over the previous quarter and CPLY. T-shirt made of other fibres is the only commodity that has perceived a positive growth of 12.07% to US$ 13.18 million in Q2 FY 18-19 over the previous quarter and 20.37% over the CPLY. German consumers enjoy a high standard of living. Price and quality of the product are the most important factors for them. They are more prone to buy clothes online as 90% of the population is connected to the internet. Another trend that Germans have developed is that they search for the products online and study the alternatives too before they physically go to purchase in a shop. UK United Kingdom's knitted t-shirt imports from India have witnessed a fall of 12.22% in the Q2 FY 18-19 to US$ 40.44 million over the previous quarter where imports totalled to US$ 52.56 million and were down by 23.06% over the CPLY. On an average, knitted t-shirt was exported to UK at a price of US$ 0.33 per piece in Q2 FY 18-19, while in the previous quarter and CPLY it was US$ 0.32 per piece. Despite being the largest exported commodity in knitted t-shirts, cotton t-shirt exports from India to UK have dropped by 14.81% to US$ 31.13 million in Q2 FY 18-19 over the previous quarter and 22.27% over the CPLY. Cotton knitted t-shirt was exported with at a price of US$ 0.44 in Q2 of this fiscal year. All other commodities except t-shirts made of other fibre under knitted t-shirt category witnessed downward trend. T-shirts made of other fibre were exported to the UK with a value of US$ 7.45 million, growth of 1.78% over the previous quarter, but dropped over the CPLY by 28.43%. In UK, consumers are getting more comfortable in researching and buying their clothes from their smartphones. The recent Black Friday sale recorded that buying online has staked higher sales over the offline buys. With the growing experience in digital shopping, small offline retailers are finding it difficult to meet the customers growing demands. There has been a slowdown in consumer spending which resulted in a drop in the clothing retail sales. The rising sourcing and labour cost has been add-ons to the dropped sales. France All the products under knitted t-shirt segment have witnessed a downward trend in exports to France. The segment exports totalled to US$ 26.41 million in Q2 FY 18-19 over the previous quarter with negative growth of 41.82% and over the CPLY by 16.90%. India exported knitted t-shirt on average of US$ 0.42 per piece to France in the Q2. Cotton t-shirt exports dropped by 41.77% in the Q2 over the previous quarter, with the exports totalling to US$ 20.26 million. The French who are known around the globe for their style and fashion dressing sense are spending the least on their wardrobe compared to their neighbouring European countries. Despite France having a cheerful luxury market, French consumers spend just 3.8% of their income on clothes and shoes, the lowest amount in the EU. One of the best ways to draw in consumers is by holding a sale. Fashion sites in France regularly hold flash sales of 2-3 days. Like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the French retail market has created their version known as French Days, which takes place twice in a year (end of April and September). These sales are very effective to meet the customers demand and to gain some grip in the market. South Africa India's knitted t-shirt exports to South Africa have improved in the Q2 in this fiscal year with a growth of 48.90% over the previous quarter, with export value of US$ 24.39 million. But compared to the previous fiscal same quarters the exports growth has dropped by 5.39%. In the Q2, India has exported only t-shirts made of cotton, synthetic fibres and other fibres to South Africa. Out of which t-shirts made of other fibres have dropped by 33.46%, totalling to US$ 3.5 million. Cotton t-shirt exports totalled to US$ 19.61 million in Q2 FY 18-19 with a growth of 87.30% over the previous quarter and 22.56% over CPLY and was traded at a price of US$ 0.29 per piece. South Africa's clothing retail earnings are expected to rise more strongly over the next 2-3 years. Rising consumer demand will drive revenue growth. Many reports have proved that apparel remains the fastest growing sector in online retail in South Africa and the sector has the highest turnover too. The clothing retail definitely remains the most dynamic market in South Africa's retail market. Shopper's expectation and demands have changed especially where variety, convenience and shopping experience is concerned. The Netherlands Knitted t-shirt exports to the Netherlands too dropped by 42.03% to US$ 17.97 million in Q2 in FY 18-19 over the previous quarter and 26.95% over the CPLY. All the commodities under this segment have perceived a negative trend. On average the product was exported at a rate of US$ 0.41 per piece. Cotton t-shirt exports totalled to US$ 11.4 million and t-shirts of other fibre totalled to US$ 5.29 million in the Q2 FY 18-19. While a cotton t-shirt was traded at US$ 0.43 per piece, a t-shirt of other fibre was traded at US$ 0.38 per piece in Q2 FY 18-19. Netherland's imports for t-shirts, singles and other vests of cotton have increased significantly in the first eight months of 2018. It has been recorded that the country has imported the commodities 2.5 times more than in 1998 and the clothing value for the eight month touched to Euro 7.6 billion with a growth of 8% from the previous year for the same period. The main supplier for the commodity has been Bangladesh. China, India and Turkey are the other major suppliers. India is the third largest supplier, but India's exports of knit cotton t-shirt have dropped in Q2 FY 18-19. Around 79% of the consumers in the Netherlands shop online. Retailers in malls have been hit by increasing demands for online purchases made in the country and heavy discounts offered on various occasions. Netherlands is in the top five countries of the EU for consumers shopping online. Indian exporters need to penetrate in the Netherlands market by supplying products to the online portal more which has a very heavy demand in the country. Spain Exports to Spain have dropped in Q2 FY 18-19 over the previous quarter and also over the CPLY by 42.03% and 26.95% respectively, with the exports totalling to US$ 17.97 million. Exports of all the commodities to Spain in the knitted t-shirt segment have dropped. Cotton t-shirt exports were down by 38.21%, synthetic fibre t-shirts by 38.04%, artificial fibre t-shirts by 69.32% and other fibres by 47.31% in the Q2 FY 18-19 over the previous quarter. On an average Indian exporters have traded knitted shirts at a price of US$ 0.41 per piece to Spain. Italy India's knitted t-shirt exports to Italy have dropped in the Q2 FY 18-19 over the previous quarter by 12.85% and over CPLY by 14.11%. Exports value totalled to US$ 11.26 million in the Q2 FY 18-19. All the products have perceived a negative trend here. Cotton t-shirt exports have dropped by 10.20% in Q2 over the previous quarter, while t-shirt made of other fibres has dropped by 25.79%. On average knit shirt is exported from India to Italy at rate of US$ 0.44 per piece in Q2 of this fiscal, whereas for the same quarter of the previous year the t-shirt was traded at US$ 0.42 per piece.