India-Canada diplomatic tensions unlikely to impact textile trade

K M Subramanian, president of the Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA), told Fibre2Fashion, "There has been no immediate impact on garment exports to Canada. We export garments for both men and women to the country. Bangladesh has a deeper penetration in the Canadian garment market due to duty-free access, so Indian exporters face stiff competition." 

Subramanian revealed that the Tiruppur region exports garments worth around ₹35,000 crore in total. Garment exports to Canada amount to approximately ₹1,000 crore, which is just 3 per cent of the total. Consequently, the current tensions between the two countries are not a matter of deep concern. He added that there have been no reports of any problems in trade, and exporters are shipping their consignments as usual. 

A trade source from Ludhiana stated that there are no substantial garment or textile exports from Punjab and nearby regions. However, exporters in Panipat have some exports of home furnishing products. 

India exported apparel worth $123.691 million between January and May 2023, which was 2.08 per cent of the total exports of $5.952 billion. Canada was the ninth-largest market for India’s apparel exports. It was also the ninth-largest home furnishing market, with a 2.53 per cent share for India. Shipments were valued at $69.328 million, out of India's total home textile exports of $2.739 billion during the first five months of this year, according to data obtained from Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro.

In fiscal 2021-22, bilateral trade between India and Canada was valued at $8.16 billion. India exported various products, including textiles, worth $4.1 billion, while its imports were valued at $4.06 billion during the same period. 

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)