Global apparel deals flowing into India amid Bangladesh crisis

The Tiruppur knitwear export hub has swung export orders worth ₹450 crore in the last two weeks from Bangladesh in the wake of the political unrest there. Global brands like KiK from Germany, Zeeman from Netherlands, and Pepco of Poland, among others, placed orders to be delivered before the Christmas and New Year and the average price of the garment ordered is to the tune of $3, said KM Subramanian, president of Tiruppur Exporters' Association (TEA).

Tiruppur has got orders for knitted garments like kids wear, nightwear, tops and pyjamas from these global brands in the last fortnight. "This sort of a thing has not happened before. The global brands place orders in December-January for spring/fall season demand and during June-July for Christmas and New Year demand," added the TEA president.

The Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC) too received 15% more orders from Zara in the last month compared to the same period last year. Zara wants to buy women's tops and dresses at a price ranging between $5-$9, said Lalit Thukral, president, of NAEC. "The brand has asked us to deliver the order within 60 days. These are fresh orders which are unusual at this time of the year," he said.

A Sakthivel, head of the southern region of Apparel Export Promotion Council said Tiruppur has received fresh orders from global brands as some of them have diverted orders from Bangladesh to India.

"But if there had been a free trade agreement between India and the EU, we would have seen more orders flowing in from the global brands. The sooner the government clinches an FTA with the EU, we will be able to grab more orders. Bangladesh has an FTA with the EU, which is helping them a lot."

Subramanian said global brands have chosen 10 new knitwear factories in Tiruppur where they have started social auditing. "The auditing signals that global brands will have more orders for Tiruppur. The auditing will be completed by the third week of September and if these factories comply with global standards, Tiruppur will get more orders in the New Year." India exported $14.5 billion worth of apparel in FY24. In the first quarter of FY25 India's readymade garment exports were $3.9 billion, compared to Bangladesh's $9.7 billion.

Bangladesh's readymade garment exports in the last fiscal (FY24) were around 3.2 times of India's, but during the first quarter (Q1) of this fiscal (FY25), this ratio narrowed down to around 2.5 times, reflecting India eating into the demand for apparel from Bangladesh, according to CareEdge Ratings.

Apart from the impact of socio-political upheavals in Bangladesh, this was also aided by various initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of Indian ready made garment exports, the rating agency noted.

Media reports said the Indian government has halted The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP) construction project in the wake of the political instability in Bangladesh. Diesel is important for Bangladesh's textile industry and may impact ready-made garment production in the neighbouring nation, said a veteran apparel exporter, who did not want to be named.