Apparel exports down 2% to $1.14 billion in December

After growing 24 per cent in November, India's apparel exports entered the negative zone by registering a decline of about 2 per cent to $1.14 billion in December due to fall in demand in western markets like the EU and the US.

The exports stood at $1.16 billion in December 2010, according to the data provided by the Apparel Export Promotion Council ( AEPC).

"There is a demand slowdown in major markets like the US and Europe due to fragile economic growth," an AEPC official said.

The US and Europe together account for about 65 per cent of India's total garment exports.

However, garment exports are up 25 per cent at $9.7 billion for the nine months (April-December) of the 2011-12 fiscal, because of healthy growth in the previous months, up from $7.7 billion in the same period last fiscal.

Exporters are exploring new markets like Japan, Latin America and Africa to reduce dependence on the US and European countries.

The garment industry employs about 70 lakh people, of which almost half are engaged in the export sector.