ndia is one of the few countries in the world with a relatively complete textile manufacturing industry chain. It is the second largest cotton producer and the second largest chemical fiber producer in the world. The cotton and chemical fiber output accounts for 23% and 9% respectively in the world, and the spinning capacity accounts for about 22% of the world. India's textile and clothing exports rank second and third respectively in the world. According to the United Nations statistics, in 2019, India exported 35.49 billion US dollars of textiles and clothing to the world. Textile industry is an important livelihood industry and foreign exchange earning industry in India. It contributes about 7% of India's industrial output value and 15% of its export volume every year, and its direct employment exceeds 45 million.
After the outbreak of new coronavirus pneumonia, India took blocking measures to prevent and control the epidemic. Production activities stopped and ports were suspended, which had a strong impact on the textile industry chain. The start-up rate of textile enterprises decreased, the shutdown increased, and the unemployment rate increased. India's economy began to recover gradually since it was unsealed in different stages in June. However, at present, the epidemic situation has been aggravated. Affected by labor, supply chain and other factors, many export enterprises are unable to start production normally and ensure timely delivery, resulting in the loss of export orders.
According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce and industry of India, in April 2020, the export volume of India's textiles and clothing shrank by 87.5% year-on-year. Since then, the decline has narrowed month by month. In September, the textile and clothing export volume increased by 10% year-on-year, which is the first time that the monthly export volume of this fiscal year (from April 1, 2020-2021) has achieved positive growth, while the cumulative export volume has not reversed the negative growth trend. From April to September 2020, India exported 10.97 billion US dollars of textiles and clothing, a year-on-year decrease of 31.7%. From the perspective of product category, clothing export, which accounted for 43.6% of India's total textile industry export, had the largest decline. From April to September, India exported 4.78 billion US dollars of clothing to the world, a year-on-year decrease of 39.3%; the export of chemical fiber textiles (accounting for 13.2% of India's total textile and clothing exports) was also more obvious, with a year-on-year decrease of 38.7% from April to September; cotton textiles (accounting for 36.6%) and carpets (export accounted for 36.6%) The decline rate of export was relatively low, and the export volume decreased by 19.5% and 14.4% respectively. Affected by the suspension of production and the decline of export, the production of Indian textile industry has also greatly slowed down. According to the data of the Ministry of statistics and planning implementation of India, in April 2020, India's textile and clothing production fell by 90.8% and 94.1%. As the severity of the epidemic has not been alleviated, the production has not yet resumed growth and has the potential to slow down again.
