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New Delhi, Dec 3 (UNI) To achieve the export target of textiles and clothing (T&C) at 50 billion dollars by 2010, India needs to increase its exports by about 30 per cent per annum, of which the share of garments should be around 25 billion dollars.

The textile exports had been stagnant in the quota period in the range of 10 to 13 billion dollars. Textile exports recorded a growth of 8.7 per cent in 2003-04, but displayed a negative growth of 3.4 per cent in 2004-05.

However, in the first year of quota free regime 2005-06, textile exports increased from 14.03 billion dollars in 2004-05 to 17.08 billion dollars, clocking a record growth of 21.8 per cent, official sources said here.

As per latest data available from Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), India's textile exports amounted to 6.1 billion dollars during the period April-July this year, recording a growth of 16.08 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

According to a latest data from the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the T&C exports during the year 2005 were to the tune of 16.14 billion dollars comprising of 7.85 billion dollars of textiles and 8.29 billion dollars of clothing.

During that year, China's exports were worth 115.21 billion dollars which included 41.05 billion dollars of textiles and 74.16 billion dollars of clothing.

Government, however, has not made any assessment regarding the prospective export performance of India versus China during the next 5 to 10 years.

Although achieving the target of 50 billion dollars of textile exports seems doubtful at present, the dismantling of quotas has put an end to the distortionary trade regime and presents an opportunity for competitive producers, say industry sources.

India's export performance during 2005 and 2006 indicate a significant improvement in performance of markets where it earlier hit quota ceilings. However, India's performance in the medium-term would critically depend on removal of domestic constraints and ability to compete with Chinese T&C exports.

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