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Chinese imports tighten margins for India's fabric manufacturers

India’s weight-based fabric imports rose to $***.*** million during January–September ****, with volumes of ***.*** million kg and an average price of $*.** per kg. This marked a sharp increase from $*.** per kg in ****, $*.** per kg in ****, and $*.** per kg in ****, pointing to a clear global uptrend in prices for non-woven and similar fabrics amid higher raw material and energy costs. China supplied $***.*** million, or nearly ** per cent, of these imports at an average price of $*.** per kg, consistently below the global average despite year-on-year price increases, according to *fashion.com/market-intelligence/texpro-textile-and-apparel/" target="_blank">sourcing intelligence tool TexPro.

In contrast, woven fabric imports, measured in square metres, continued to show persistent price softness. Imports stood at $***.*** million in January–September ****, with volumes of *,***.*** million sqm at an average price of $*.** per sqm. This compares with $*.** per sqm in ****, $*.** per sqm in ****, and a high of $*.** per sqm in ****, reflecting oversupply and intense price competition in global woven fabric markets. China accounted for about ** per cent of woven fabric imports in ****, supplying at an average price of $*.** per sqm, sharply lower than global levels and its own pricing in earlier years.