Photo used for representation purpose only.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The government should address the structural challenges faced by the Indian textile and apparel industry to achieve $ 100 billion exports by 2030, according to stakeholders of the industry.

At a meeting held in Coimbatore on Friday (June 6, 2025) to discuss the challenges faced by the textile and apparel exporters, they discussed the reasons for the nil growth in textile and apparel exports for almost a decade. The exports are stagnant at about $ 40 billion in value. The volume of exports has declined which is a matter of concern, they said.

The exports should grow at 17% CAGR to achieve the target of $ 100 billion by 2030. Structural issues, including raw material prices and high labour costs, are a major hurdle apart from cost of capital, power tariff, and relatively higher lead time to deliver orders.

Since the return on investment is not viable, the industry is not ready to invest in expansion projects and build capacities.

A report by AT Kearney Consulting and the Foundation for Economic Development said the government introduced schemes such as the PM MITRA, PLI, advance authorisation, etc to address the cost issues.

However, according to the stakeholders, for the industry to tap opportunities in the international market and register growth, the basic challenges need to be addressed as these schemes have not given the required cost advantage.