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Stitching India's Apparel Export Competitiveness: Insights from Global Leaders

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  • Sulakshana Rao

    (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER))

  • Ayushi Gupta

  • Ashok Gulati

  • Riya Jain

Abstract

This policy brief examines the specific policy instruments, institutional arrangements and industrial strategies that enabled China, Bangladesh and Vietnam to build competitive apparel ecosystems across five pillars of competitiveness (scale, capital, labour, trade facilitation and institutional mechanisms). China's rise is driven by vertically integrated mega-clusters and predictable fiscal-financial systems; Bangladesh leveraged liquidity instruments such as back-to-back letter of credit and bonded warehouses to compress lead times; and Vietnam combined FDI-driven industrial parks with FTA access. We recommend a sequenced (short, medium and long-term) reform pathway that builds integrated fibre-to-fashion ecosystems, lowers the cost of capital, upgrades productivity and supervisory skills, embeds cluster-level governance and aligns trade policy with buyer demand. With sequenced reforms, immediate liquidity and policy certainty, medium-term diversification and cluster integration and long-term fibre-neutral, sustainability-led transformation, India can expand apparel exports from USD 15.7 billion (FY 2025) to the target of USD 40 billion by 2030, set by the Government of India.

Suggested Citation

  • Sulakshana Rao & Ayushi Gupta & Ashok Gulati & Riya Jain, 2025. "Stitching India's Apparel Export Competitiveness: Insights from Global Leaders," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Policy Paper 58, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, India.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdc:ppaper:58
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