India’s Textile Exports Stay On Growth Track Despite Global Volatility
India’s textile and apparel (T&A) sector continued to display resilience and steady momentum despite a soft global trade environment, supported by diversified markets, value-added manufacturing and labour-intensive production capabilities. Export data for December 2025 shows the sector registering its second consecutive month of growth, with outbound shipments rising 0.40% year-on-year to US$ 3.27 billion, following strong performance in November 2025.
Growth in December was broad-based across major product categories, led by Handicrafts (7.2%), Ready-Made Garments (2.89%) and MMF yarn, fabrics and made-ups (3.99%). The performance reinforces India’s competitive positioning in value-added products, traditional craft clusters and employment-rich segments, even as global consumer demand remains uneven.
On a calendar-year basis (January–December 2025), T&A exports remained stable at USD 37.54 billion. Within this, Handicrafts (17.5%), Ready-Made Garments (3.5%) and Jute products (3.5%) posted notable gains. Maintaining export stability at this scale amid geopolitical risks, inflationary pressures and shifting sourcing strategies in major markets reflects the sector’s structural depth and diversified product mix.
One of the standout features of 2025 has been strong market diversification. Between January–November 2025, India recorded export growth across 118 countries and destinations versus the corresponding period in 2024, marking a broad-based expansion of global reach. Robust gains were registered in both traditional and non-traditional markets including the UAE (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%). Growth was also steady across key European destinations such as Spain (7.9%), France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.
