Global Market Analysis of India's Silk Industry: Trade Dynamics and Competitiveness Assessment

Abstract

India's silk industry holds a significant position in the global market, ranking as the second largest producer after China. An analysis of trade dynamics and competitiveness reveals notable trends in both exports and imports. Bangladesh leads India's export destinations with a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.63 per cent, followed by China at 8.01 per cent, indicating expanding market presence. On the import front, Vietnam and Brazil emerge as key suppliers, with high CAGRs of 42.03 per cent and 33.36 per cent, respectively, suggesting growing dependence on these countries for raw silk or silk yarn. Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) analysis from 2011 to 2021 shows that Uzbekistan (25.04) and Romania (10.02) have shown comparative advantage and strong positions in silk exports, whereas two countries show a comparative disadvantage. Market concentration, the global silk export market has a high concentration with an HHI of 0.305, as per the thresholds defined by the UK CMA and US FTC. Meanwhile, global silk imports have an HHI of 0.194, indicating moderate concentration. India’s silk exports show an HHI of 0.188 moderate by UK standards but high by US standards suggesting limited export market diversification and dependency on select importing countries.