The latest figures on readymade garment exports from the country till February end give something to cheer for the Tirupur knitwear exporters as the exports have grown robustly both in rupee and dollar terms after a sluggish start during the fiscal. The situation has given back the hope to Tirupur apparel exporters of meeting the annual target of Rs. 25,000 cr they set for the current financial year. The official data accessed by shows that the readymade garment exports from the country (both knitwear and woven together) stood at Rs. 1,04,443.96 cr for the period between April 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017.
It showed a growth of 3.5 per cent in terms of rupee and 0.58 per cent in terms of dollar when compared to the same period during 2015-16 fiscal. It should be noted that the growth was negative in terms of dollar during the first three quarters of the current fiscal till December 31. Of the total exports till February end, the knitwear alone contributed Rs. 50,550.87 cr. In the case of exports from Tirupur knitwear cluster, garments worth Rs. 23,253 cr were exported between April 1 and February 28 this fiscal after the exports stood at just around Rs. 16,600 cr till December 31 causing some anxiety to the exporting fraternity. “Now with sudden surge in exports, we are hopeful of meeting the targets of Rs. 25,000 cr comfortably by March 31. If not for the market slowdown happened subsequent to the Britain’s decision to exit European Union and few other factors, the cluster could have reached an annual turnover of Rs. 28,000 cr,” said Tirupur Exporters Association President Raja Shanmugam.
