PUNE: India’s textile and apparel exports to the US fell sharply in February, underperforming Asian peers and signalling weak demand.
Imports from India declined 28.7% year-on-year, compared with a 16.4% fall from Bangladesh, while Vietnam recorded a 5% increase, according to data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel. Imports from China recorded the steepest decline at 45.2%, an analysis by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industries showed.
The decline has raised concerns about India losing markshare in the US to competitors such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.
“The US trade data till February 2026 shows India is losing share faster than Bangladesh, while Vietnam is consolidating gains,” said Chandrima Chatterjee, secretary general at the industry body.
The fall comes despite the rollback of additional US tariffs in February 2026, indicating the benefits have yet to translate into higher orders. Exporters are also struggling to regain customers who shifted sourcing to other countries.
“A lot of US buyers have moved away from India to hedge their risks due to the high tariffs on India,” said Rajat Jaipuria, managing director of Rajalaxmi Cotton Mills. “We are struggling to get them back. We have succeeded in getting back only about 40% of our US buyers.”
“As the tariffs have come down in February, we can see some increase in shipments from May-June onwards as it takes 90-120 days from orders to shipments,” he added.
Exporters said US imports in 2025 were lower than in 2024 as tariff-driven inflation weighed on consumer confidence.
“This is the fallout of the US tariffs, which had become effective from August,” said Sanjay Jain, chairman of National Textile Committee at the Indian Chamber of Commerce. “The orders to India came down as buyers were waiting for the tariffs to go and the tariffs have gone recently. As this is the US import data, it means that the shipping from any destination including India must have happened at least a month earlier, which explains the huge fall in imports from India. I am sure this fall will reduce.”
According to the Confederation of Indian Textile Industries, the decline reflects the lag effect of tariff rollback and structural gaps that have pushed buyers to diversify sourcing, particularly towards Vietnam.
The impact is visible in company earnings.
“The uncertainty in US orders persist leading to underutilisation of capacities in key clusters. The Q3 results of listed apparel and home textis with significant US exposure show over 50% decline in PAT growth, reflecting sharp demand compression, margin squeeze from high fixed costs and limited ability to pass on costs,” Chatterjee said.
