The 2010 US garment import data is out and it appears that just about everybody is a winner. The global export industry did not do so well. There have been repeated claims that the garment exports during 2010 to the US have been exceedingly good. But it is not quite so, particularly when seen in the context of how other countries, including and particularly the lesser countries, have performed. For any kind of balanced and objective assessment, it would be necessary to compare our performance of 2010 with that of 2009 as also of other countries.

It is a fact that 2009 was a true disaster. US imports fell by 11.8%, the sharpest drop in history. Customers sharply reduced orders from all but their most important suppliers. Many marginal factories closed. However, in 2010, the situation reversed, rising by a record 13.1%. Imports increased almost overnight. Suddenly customers who only weeks before were cutting down their orders were fighting to force new orders on factories which were already overbooked. It may not be wrong to say that 2010 was the greatest sellers' market in memory, a time when anybody with a sewing machine was classified as a most valued supplier. In these circumstances, a normal factory (or an industry) should expect to have shown increases of 12% over 2009. Any smaller increase means that your customer was taking his orders elsewhere.

The following table, depicting the US garment imports during 2010 as compared to 2009 in respect of major garment exporting countries, throws up some interesting facts, exploding certain myths that had conveniently been adopted and trusted.

It would be seen that the US garment imports were valued at $63,105 million, which improved massively by 13.1% to $71,398 million in 2010. It was inevitable as the year 2009 was the year of decline due to global financial instability. It would be interesting to note that even in that year of decline in US imports of garments, India could walk away with garment exports of $2,846 representing 4.5% of total US garment exports. India's share in US garment imports during the year 2010 actually declined to 4.4% of total US garment exports, notwithstanding that in terms of value, we registered a reasonable jump of 9.3% to $3112 million. This means that we could not keep pace with the benefit that US imports granted to most of other countries in the world. In fact, we were the net losers in the process by 3.4% in terms of decline in our garment exports to the US, when a large number of countries actually gained and shared the increase in US imports of garments.


Some of the countries that gained and increased their share in the US garment exports were the two DR-CAFTA countries like El Salvador and Honduras, which increased their exports 11.5% and 5% respectively in their exports to the US, as compared to 2009. Other countries that improved their share in the US imports during 2010 were Cambodia (5%), China (4.2%), Vietnam (2.5%), Bangladesh (1.9%), Indonesia (1.3%), Pakistan (1%), Nicaragua (0.8%)


Is it not a small wonder for a big country like India to find itself in the company of losers by registering a declined share in US garment exports in 2010 (-3.4%), Thailand (-5.4%), Guatemala (-7.6), Mexico (-7.7), Dominican Rep. (-9.8), Sri Lanka (-10.6), Philippines (-11.5) and Haiti (-15.4). It must, however, be noted that each of loser countries had a business volume of lower order than India. However, Haiti was the only country, whose share in US imports fell in 2010, as compared to 2009.


What is lamentable is that India which has all the advantages of the second fastest growing economy in the world has failed to pull it out of the loser-countries. This only betrays the hollowness of the claim that Indian garment exports have all the support of the Government, who is known to have failed on a number of grounds, including provision of level playing field, as compared to its competing economies, who all have faired much better than us.


Will the Apparel Export Promotion Council, which has an important mandate and agenda to promote Indian garment exports, please look into this?


Originally Published in The Stitch Times, April-2011