In terms of consolidated textile and apparel trade, India saw a contraction of 1.84% year-on-year, dropping exports worth $11.96 billion in the April-July 2026 period. In terms of detailed analysis, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) pointed out that this overall decline in exports was occurring due to a sharp downturn in shipments in the apparel industry, which offset the positive trend in textiles.

Overall combined exports of the textile and apparel industry accounted for export revenue of $12.18 billion in the four months last year, compared with $10.68 billion in the current period.

Mixed trends observed and divergence

In the industry, the largest decline was observed in the export of apparel, which had experienced a decrease of 10.52% to amount to $4.95 billion in the first four months of the fiscal year. The stand-alone segment of textiles has witnessed growth, with exports having increased by 5.38% to amount to $7.01 billion.

This split between garment production and raw materials or semi-processed textile products suggests the varying internal competitive conditions of the textiles trade sector itself. Considering July performance details, the data submitted by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry showed a slight turnaround for the overall market segment. 

Total textile and apparel exports increased marginally by 1.44% year-on-year to $3.14 billion. This modest growth was driven exclusively by shipping volumes in textiles, rising 5.94% year-on-year to $1.87 billion in the month.

The apparel industry faced continued headwinds during the month of July. Apparel exports saw continued pressure, falling by 4.48% year-on-year to $1.28 billion. The shipping figures of broad textiles also offer some relief from heavyweights, but downstream textiles activity, which is still in debt to ready-made apparel, suggests resilience in primary products alongside an ongoing risky situation for garment manufacturing.

Segment-wise breakdown and import dynamics

On a detailed analysis of July, cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups and handloom articles saw combined growth of 8.4% and generated export revenue to the tune of $1.11 billion in that month. Clothing components reported a relatively small 0.45% increase in the month, with man-made yarn, fabrics, and made-ups accounting for $424.13 million of the export basket.

Handicrafts (except for handmade carpets) have shown the most contrasting performance in terms of growth among all the segments of textiles. Exports of handicrafts increased by 15.55% to amount to $177.06 million in July. In terms of growth rate, the handicraft industry performed even better in the April-July period with an increase of 30.48% to amount to $719.88 million.

Many traditional manufacturing industries experienced significant losses. The exports of jute manufacturing (including that of floors) decreased by 14.95% in July and fell by 13.8% for the first consecutive six months of this year. Carpet exports dipped marginally by 1.47% and cumulatively maintained their higher performance by 0.27% during July.

The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry analysis also pointed to substantial changes in raw material imports. In July, raw cotton and cotton waste imports rose 46.01% year-on-year to $175.67 million. Raw cotton imports increased by 53.63% to $588.75 million during the extended months of April-July. Imports of textile yarn, fabric and made-up items rose by 1.64% in July but overall declined by 0.99% during April-July.

From the national trade point, overall merchandise exports increased 19.63% in July and 17.04% over the last four months of April-July. In this overall national context, the share of textiles and apparel in the total merchandise export basket was 7.11% for the month of July and 6.88% for the cumulative April-July period.

Conclusion

The ongoing report in the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry highlights a significant divide in the Indian textile and garment exporting ecosystem. The performance of the industry is dragged down by the apparel sector, although the primary textile categories, especially cotton products and handicrafts, have managed to keep their feet on the ground and remain positive.

The apparel shipments dropped 10.52% during this July-to-fourth quarter, underscoring the continuing challenges in the garment trade even as raw material imports have shown significant rises to support domestic production routes.