India Getting Global Clothing Agreements Amid Bangladesh Crisis

Nitin Konde, Apoorva Bajj

Sep 7, 2024 — 2 min read

India Getting Global Clothing Agreements Amid Bangladesh Crisis

In light of the ongoing political turmoil in Bangladesh, the Noida textile cluster and the little town of Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu are benefiting from an influx of multinational apparel firms looking for new factories to manufacture their goods.

In the past two weeks, Tiruppur's knitwear export business has brought in orders worth INR 450 crore. This is because, as reported by a prestigious media company, brands from Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland are looking to India as a haven due to the turmoil in Bangladesh.

According to KM Subramanian, president of the Tiruppur Exporters' Association (TEA), major stores including KiK, Zeeman, and Pepco have placed urgent orders for clothing costing around $3 each. The garments are expected to be delivered before Christmas and New Year.pajamas

A Surge in Interest in Knitwear From Well-Known International Labels

Kids' clothes, pajamas, blouses, and nightgowns are among the knitted items included in the orders. According to Subramanian, this is an "unusual situation" because normally brands place their orders in December and January for the spring/fall season, or in June and July for the holiday season. The Tiruppur hub has never experienced such an unexpected increase in demand so close to Christmas.

Global brands have begun social audits at ten knitwear manufacturers in Tiruppur that were recently chosen, suggesting an uptick in future orders. By mid-September, we anticipate having finished the auditing process. "More orders will follow in the New Year if these factories meet global standards," Subramanian said.

Noida Clothing Export Cluster Experiences a Surge in Zara Orders

The garment export sector in Noida has also been doing well; according to the Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC), Zara's orders have increased by 15% in the past month compared to the same time last year. The NAEC president brought up the fact that Zara has placed an order for women's dresses and tops ranging in price from $5 to $9, with a very tight deadline of 60 days for delivery.

Closest Rivalry Between Bangladesh and India in Garment Exports

Compared to Bangladesh's $9.7 billion, India's apparel exports in FY24 were $14.5 billion, with readymade garment exports hitting $3.9 billion in Q1 FY25. While India's garment exports were 2.5 times larger than Bangladesh's in the first quarter of FY25, the gap decreased to 3.2 times in FY24, according to CareEdge Ratings, showing that India's market share was increasing.

Effect on the Bangladeshi Textile Sector

The building of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP) has been put on hold by the Indian government as a response to the turmoil that has been occurring. It was mentioned in various media reports that this decision could have an impact on diesel, which is an essential resource for Bangladesh's textile industry. This could potentially cause disruptions in the manufacture of garments in the country.