Indian garment exporters rue lack of orders as cotton and freight prices sharply decline

Most textile exporters now realize globally that it is not the cost that is undermining their trade but it is the lack of demand Cotton prices and sea freight rates have dropped significantly in the last year.

Even the shipping lines are experiencing the pinch of slower global trade not only in textiles but most other commodities as well. It is worth noting that sea freight is influenced by various factors such as global trade patterns, economic conditions, geopolitical events, and other industry-specific dynamics. These factors brought down the sea freight over time substantially.

This cost factor plus a sharp decline in cotton rates in India is good news for Indian garment exporters but they now realize that the gloomy exports are because of lack of orders and not cost. They will benefit from lower costs when the demand rises which most textile experts believe would be in the last quarter of 2024. They wonder whether these benefits would be available by then.

In India, the price of cotton per candy has dropped by nearly 40 per cent to around INR65000 from a peak of nearly INR1 lakh last year. The freight rates have dropped by half in the last year.



It’s a double delight for garment exporters as both cotton prices and sea freight have had a steep fall in the last few months and at pre-Covid levels. However, exporters are unable to take advantage of the two due to poor order flow from clients abroad.