India is the biggest producer of fibre but textile industry lags in growth and exports

India has one of the largest textile industries in the world, but, India's exports of textiles are lower compared to countries such as China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. These countries are having less complicated regulations, low cost of production, and vertically integrated supply chains.

A briefing on fiber to fabric in India

With 24% of global cotton output, India is second to China as the largest producer. About 60 lakh farmers cultivate cotton, mainly in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.

While cotton is the most widely consumed natural fiber in India, jute and wool are also used in the textile industry. Aditya Birla Group (Grasim Industries Ltd.) is the only domestic manufacturer of viscose fiber and Reliance Industries Ltd. dominates the polyester fiber market, India is also the second-largest producer of man-made fibers (MMF) in the world.

India is not as export-oriented in terms of textiles as Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh, simply due to higher production costs. In 2023, Vietnam, for instance, shipped out $40 billion worth of clothing. These countries are able to do this due to their vertically integrated supply chains.

One major India problem is that it has a cotton supply chain that is split among several states, increasing logistical costs and making large-scale manufacturing difficult.

India's competitiveness in the MMF industry is also eroded due to the high price of raw materials. As imports of viscose and polyester fibers are prohibited by quality control orders (QCOs), local producers of yarn are compelled to utilize far more costly local alternatives. As per the statistics of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), viscose fiber was 14–16% pricier in January than that of polyester fiber, which was 33–36% pricier in India compared to China.

The fashion world is no exception to the increasing international recognition of how a sustainable way of life is important now. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week said at the textile fair Bharat Tex that the textile sector needs to embrace the philosophy of making maximum use of resources and minimizing wastage.

Millions of clothes are being rejected every month all around the globe today, with the majority of them being categorized as "fast fashion waste." These are clothes that have been discarded due to a change in fashion trends. The environment and ecosystems are gravely affected by these clothes, which are rejected all around the globe.