Textiles To Garner Up To Rs 7k Crore Export Revenues From UK

After the decoupling of the UK from the European Union, Indian textile imports to the country dropped from $2.4 billion to $1.8 billion in FY25.

“With the FTA, India has the potential to regain the lost exports as well as to grow further in the coming years,” said Chandrima Chatterjee, secretary general, CITI.

According to India Ratings, when the 12 per cent duty charged on Indian textiles will come down to nil under the FTA, it is expected to expand the export market by Rs 4500 crore to Rs 7000 crore ($500 million -$800 million), assuming a 2-3 per cent increase in India’s share in UK’s textile imports. In rupee terms, this will see Indian textile imports going up from Rs 16000 crore to Rs 20,500 – Rs 23000 crore.

The major beneficiary of the FTA will be apparels as it will provide India a level-playing field with its competitors like Bangladesh and Turkey. Both these countries currently enjoy zero per cent duty on UK exports.

India has the potential to grab market share from China, which is the largest exporter of apparels to the UK. While China has 21 per cent share in UK’s apparel and home textile exports, Bangladesh has 13 per cent, Turkey 7 per cent and India 6 per cent.

As China is still charged 12 per cent for the UK imports, Indian apparels are likely to become more competitive. Within apparel, firms involved in the export of T-shirts and vests, babies’ garments, and women’s dresses, jackets and trousers could see a higher demand as volumes shift away from China, especially for cotton-based products, said Rohit Sadaka, Director and Sector Head - Textiles, Corporates, Ind-Ra.

Indian apparel and home textile industries also have the capacity to increase the production to meet the future demand from the UK.