Traditionally, the textile sector is known to be the largest contributor to India’s exports, but data shows that home bedding & bath, followed by home décor & furnishing actually lead India’s exports.

Mumbai: Indian manufacturers registered a double-digit growth and have  superseded China in exports of locally made retail and lifestyle products, signalling the improving competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing sector.

According to DAMCO, one of India’s leading providers of freight forwarding and supply chain management services firm, India registered a strong 10 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2013-2016 in exports of retail and lifestyle products while China registered a mere 5 per cent growth during the same period.

Traditionally, the textile sector is known to be the largest contributor to India’s exports, but DAMCO’s data shows that home bedding & bath, followed by home décor & furnishing actually lead India’s retail and lifestyle exports, with textiles coming in third place.

Together, these three categories dominate the total volume of exports from India at 53 per cent consolidating India’s position as a global hub for these products.

The DAMCO India sourcing report also noted that the footwear and stationary categories are growing in popularity globally registering 43 per cent and 36 per cent CAGRs respectively.

Interestingly, demand for emerging categories like children’s toys, hand tools, camping material and building stones and tiles from India are also on the rise. “India based manufacturers are benefiting significantly from access to quality raw materials that are competitively priced.

Their improving agility combined with the efforts of the government is making India an increasingly attractive destination for global brands, especially in the retail and lifestyle category,” said Vishal Sharma, CEO – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, DAMCO.