Rupee Weakness Brings Mixed Relief to Textile Exporters
By yash chouhan 2026-06-18 15:28:28
Rupee Weakness in FY26 Offers Relief to Textile Exporters, Yet Challenges Persist
The Indian rupee has depreciated by approximately 46% against the US dollar over the last decade. Generally, a weaker rupee is considered beneficial for exporters as it makes Indian products relatively cheaper in the global market. However, India's textile and garment exports have seen only limited growth during this period, highlighting issues such as global competition, weak demand, and market uncertainties.
According to Ministry of Commerce data, India's textile and garment exports stood at approximately $29.47 billion in the 2014-15 fiscal year, when the rupee was trading at around 65 against the dollar. Subsequently, the rupee weakened steadily, closing at 94.83 per dollar on March 31, 2026. Despite this, textile and garment exports in FY26 declined to $35.80 billion, a 2% drop compared to the $36.61 billion recorded in the previous fiscal year.
Experts note that while exporters benefited from the rupee's depreciation, this advantage could not offset the impact of sluggish global demand and the growing presence of competing nations. Garment exports, in particular, have remained under pressure for the past few years. Industry insiders believe that despite a marginal rise in export value, there has been a decline in export volumes. Some estimates suggest that shipment volumes may have dropped by nearly one-third between FY15 and FY26.
Siddhartha Rajagopal, Executive Director of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, stated that although orders from the US declined in FY26, improved demand from markets such as China, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka provided some support to exports. Meanwhile, K. [Name Incomplete], Chairman of the Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council... Shaktivel stated that while exports to African countries saw a brief surge in the last fiscal year, the period was overall highly uncertain for the industry.
The industry believes that export growth in the coming years will not depend solely on the depreciation of the rupee, but also on enhancing competitiveness, gaining access to new markets, and an improvement in global demand.
