Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the apex council for the garment exports in India conducted a survey to find the catalyst for the exceptional differentiated export growth of 31.7 per cent in April, 2017 and was flooded with data about the huge impact of ROSL on the performance of the industry. The industry is very upbeat and believes that over a period of three years they can consistently increase exports.
According to the survey done by AEPC in eight states where there is significant apparel production, 85 per cent of apparel exporters were substantially benefited by ROSL in their export performance, while 65 per cent rate the impact of ROSL as high or game changing.
The industry also believes that given the ROSL impact in such a short span of time, they can over a period of three years consistently increase their capacity. 61 per cent of industry respondents believe that they can deliver growth above 15-20 per cent. With as many as 6 per cent believe more than 30 per cent is possible. Further, 64 per cent of the respondents are of opinion that continued ROSL support will help them expand their factories. The respondents are also of opinion that expansion of factories will also lead to higher rate of employment (67 per cent), better work environment (73 per cent) and better prices for farmers (50 per cent).
Moreover, 77 per cent exporters are of the view that ROSL can be continued in its existing form. Commenting on the findings of the survey, Chairman AEPC, Ashok G Rajani, said, “AEPC has been reiterating the importance of ROSL for the industry. ROSL has helped industry deliver phenomenal growth for the sector. ROSL since its announcement in last June added a positive sentiment amongst exporters and roll out in September last year helped lifting the falling apparel exports. Since then the growth has been on an upward trajectory peaking in April this year.”
India’s apparel export registered momentous growth of 31.7 per cent in April 2017 compared to same period last year. The data of the apparel exports shows that after the commencement of disbursement of ROSL, the apparel sector has been registering double digit growth. During March-April, 2017, Indian garment exporters were able to increase production by around 30 per cent for achieving this growth and employed at least 5 per cent more workers during the same period.
