Having missed the textile export target for fiscal 2007-08, the Ministry of Textiles is considering lowering its ambitious 2010 target of $50 billion by almost 40 per cent. The proposed revision comes barely three years after the phase out of quotas in 2006 and proves once and for all that the country could not quite capitalise on the potential in the global textile and apparel landscape.

According to a ministry official, steep rupee appreciation that had haunted the industry throughout last year has robbed exports of the momentum that it had acquired over the years. “The rupee appreciation could not have happened at a more inopportune moment. Just as we were standing up to the Chinese onslaught it robbed us of the momentum,” the official said. “The $50 billion target was set keeping in mind the positive double digit growth that we were clocking but now with a year gone, $30 billion seems to be a more realistic target.”

Textiles minister Shankarsinh Vaghela also admitted that the last fiscal (2007-08) was bad for the industry but was hopeful that better times are in the offing. “We had set a target of $25 billion, but at the end of it we are short at $20.5 billion. Rupee appreciation is to be squarely blamed for this as it hit our margins, while competing countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan benefited from it,” Vaghela said. “The last quarter however, was good for us and we managed to grow by 10 per cent in the fiscal — something that had looked unachievable a few months back.”

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