The Hindu Business Line : India ranked 6 in US' list of textile, apparel exports

IN all the euphoria about the lifting of quotas, it is all too easy to forget that the US increased its textile and apparel exports by 200 per cent over the past 15 years.

And it has managed to do this despite the fact that much of its capital has migrated elsewhere, and its products therefore do not enter into the computation of US exports.

The growth of apparel exports was somewhat smaller over this period, below 160 per cent, but the export of textile mill products proceeded briskly to log up a growth of 221 per cent.

Total textile and apparel exports from the US to the rest of the world stood at $16.2 billion in 2004, of which textile mill products (which involve a relatively less labour intensive process than the making of garments) accounted for $11.6 billion.

India stands at number six of the fastest growing US markets for the exports of textiles and apparel. Though it only imported goods worth $66 million directly from the US in 2004, this was up 27 per cent over the 2003 figure. Growth in the first two months of 2005 was 26 per cent above the level achieved in these same months in 2004. Brazil and Spain rank the first and second in the USA's list of `fastest growing export markets'. Russia is at number three.

Other prominent members of this club are West Asia (the Arab countries and fiefdoms, Iran and Israel). Pakistan too figures on this list; only a few notches below India, which means that the average Pakistani is very much more likely to be found going around in `made in the USA' garb than the average Indian.

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