The textile hub of Tirupur in Tamil Nadu is witnessing a surge in overseas orders as the export demand has diverted to India from Sri Lanka owing to the economic and political crisis in the island nation.
Garments and tea are the major exports from Sri Lanka.
“The Sri Lankan apparel industry is going through a major crisis because of which global brands have started diverting some of the orders from Sri Lanka to India’s Tirupur textile hub. These orders are being placed for the upcoming fall season,” informed Raja M Shanmugam, president, Tirupur Exporters’ Association
Global brands such as Zara, Mango and H&M place orders with Asian countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia already have huge orders in their hands.
The only option left in this scenario is India.
“However, high cotton and yarn prices are a major concern for the Indian textile trade,” said Shanmugam.
Sri Lanka exports $5.42 billion worth of garments to the global markets annually.
While export orders for apparel are being diverted to India, the tea industry in the country, too, has started getting export enquiries from the markets where Sri Lanka used to sell teas.
