Can India’s apparel industry become export powerhouse?
Mumbai: As global apparel supply chains evolve, international brands are increasingly seeking sourcing partners that can offer resilience, scale, speed, sustainability and quality alongside cost competitiveness. For India, this presents an opportunity to strengthen its position as a preferred global apparel sourcing destination.
India’s biggest advantage lies in the depth of its textile ecosystem. Talking to Bizz Buzz, Ashutosh Goenka, CMD, Meenakshi India, said, “India has a fully developed and mature textile ecosystem, from good-quality cotton to spinning, weaving, processing and garmenting. Unlike countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, which depend on China or India at some stage, India has the ability to support the entire textile and apparel manufacturing process domestically.”
India also benefits from an abundant skilled workforce, familiarity with Western markets and growing capabilities in design, product development and forecasting. Its network of ports, particularly across the southern manufacturing belt, provides further logistical advantages, while new infrastructure such as Vizhinjam port could strengthen export connectivity.
However, converting these advantages into sustained export growth will require India to address challenges around scale, productivity and lead times. Global buyers increasingly want sourcing partners that can respond quickly, reduce inventory and support more agile supply chains.
Scale is something that India has to work on, as the industry remains quite fragmented with smaller manufacturers. The biggest impediments are the current labour laws, which restrict work hours, seasonal hiring, overtime wages and the ability to maximise productivity. Even though the new labour codes have addressed some of these areas, there is a lot more that needs to be done at the ground level and in practice to encourage large-scale capacity addition.
The productivity gap with competing export hubs highlights the opportunity. Goenka estimates average output for a basic chino trouser at around eight pieces per operator in India, compared with 12-14 in Bangladesh and 16-18 in Vietnam. Larger capacities, improved labour flexibility and policies that encourage productivity will be critical to closing this gap.
Sustainability is increasingly becoming a baseline requirement for global sourcing. Indian manufacturers are investing in compliance, organic materials and renewable energy, with Goenka noting that “sustainability and compliance are not an option but a necessity.” India’s strong organic cotton ecosystem and significant solar and wind potential provide further opportunities.
Trade agreements are another potential catalyst. Recent and emerging FTAs can expand market access, but their long-term impact will depend on India’s ability to convert this access into sustained orders and deeper relationships with global brands.
From an investment perspective, Renish CA, Co-Founder, Estilocus, says, “FTAs, government schemes and initiatives such as PM Mitra Parks and the PLI scheme create the enabling environment, but the next phase will depend on whether Indian manufacturers can scale capabilities and demonstrate sustained export competitiveness.” For India, the next five to ten years will therefore be less about competing purely on cost and more about building scale, productivity, quality and value-added capabilities.
As Goenka puts it, “China’s wages are higher than those in India, but better productivity and product capabilities make it more competitive. That is an important lesson for India.”
India has the ecosystem and the opportunity. The challenge now is to create the conditions that enable manufacturers to invest, scale and compete globally on quality, reliability and value, not cost alone.