The official figures for India's textile exports sharply contrast the textile import figures of the European Union, the United States and Canada.
While the EU, US and Canada figures show a sharp increase in textile imports from India, the Directorate-General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) has data that show a 24.3 per cent decline in exports during the first three months after the phasing out of quotas this January.
The import figures seriously question the authenticity of the DGCI & S figures which show that textile exports went down from $1.56 billion in the first quarter of 2004 to $1.18 billion during the same period this year.
The EU's apparel import figures indicate that imports from India had a 10 per cent growth in January and nearly 14 per cent in February this year.
The EU data show that imports in January grew to 231 million Euro against 209 million Euro in January last year.
Similarly, imports in February were 279.68 million Euro against 246.16 million for the same month the previous year.
The DGCI & S figures do not conform to the import figures of the US and Canada. Apparel exports from India to the US jumped by 34 per cent from $587.41 million in January-March, 2004 to $787.75 million in the same period this year.
Canada's garments import from India increased marginally by 2.39 per cent from $130.25 million in January-March 2004 to $133.37 million this year.
With the EU, the US and Canada together accounting for more than 80 per cent of India's export market, the industry is questioning the credibility of the DGCI&S figures.
"There is a need to look at the way these figures are compiled. The methods employed in other countries are more scientific and we have to do away with outdated technology and upgrade ourselves," says Radian Hinduja, managing director, Gokuldas Exports.
Premal Udani, president, Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India says,"It is a matter of great embarrassment for the government that we do not have a proper system to track our exports."
