The country's cotton yarn, fabrics/made-ups and handlooms exports rose 6.71 per cent year-on-year to USD 11.7 billion in 2023-24, even as the total exports dipped by 3 per cent in the last fiscal.

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According to the commerce ministry data, these exports in March grew by 6.78 per cent to USD 1 billion.In 2022-23, these exports stood at USD 10.95 billion. This is one of the key product categories out of 30 closely monitored by the ministry.

The top five export markets for the sector during the last fiscal year were the US, Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, and the UAE. The US accounts for over 25 per cent of India's total cotton yarn, fabrics/made-ups and handlooms exports, followed by Bangladesh (16 per cent), China (6.6 per cent), Sri Lanka (4.4 per cent), and UAE (2.35 per cent).In 2023-24, the outbound shipments also entered new geographies like Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Eastern Caribbean; Serbia; Georgia; Sweden; Cyprus; Azerbaijan; and Iran.

The other new markets explored by domestic exporters from the sector include Zambia, Cote D'Ivore, Sierra Leone, and Russia. An industry expert said that Brazil and Vietnam are promising markets where these shipments can be potted.On average, India exports of these products worth USD one billion every month.

As per estimates, India is the largest producer of cotton globally, accounting for 23 per cent of the total global cotton production. This category of exports is contributing to pushing up the country's labour-intensive textiles exports. Exporters are looking at increasing textiles shipments to USD 100 billion by 2030.

India's total merchandise exports dipped by 3.11 per cent to USD 437 billion in 2023-24. Imports too dipped to USD 677.24 billion in the last fiscal.