Introduction
Wool is an essential fibre for producing winter clothing, floor coverings and industrial usage. India, with the third largest sheep population (74.26 million) is the ninth largest wool producer in the world. The organized sector of India consists of composite mills, combing units, spinning mills, carpet manufacturing units, woven and knitted garment units. The decentralized wool sector of India consists of powerlooms, handlooms, knitting and hosiery, dyeing, etc.
The major wool producing states in the year 2020-21 were, Rajasthan (15.68 million kg), Jammu and Kashmir (7.65 million kg), Telangana (3.37 million kg), Gujarat (2 million kg), Maharashtra (1.55 million kg), Himachal Pradesh (1.48 million kg), Karnataka (1.05 million kg), Uttar Pradesh (0.89 million kg), West Bengal (0.76 million kg) and Haryana (0.69 million kg).
India produces three main categories of wool: Carpet Grade, Apparel Grade and Coarser Grade. These categories make up 85%, 5% and 10% of the total production for 2020-21 respectively. The wool industry of India provides employment to around 1.2 million people in the organized sector and about 2 million people in the associated industries. Around 0.3 million people are in the business of carpet weaving. The wool production of the country in 2020-21 stood at 36.93 million kg.
Wool Exports Trends
The wool sector of India is export oriented. The major types of wool products exported out of India are: carpets, ready-made garments, woolen yarn, fabrics, blankets, knitwear, tops, shoddy fabrics, etc.
Woolen carpets have a maximum share of total woolen products exported out of India. On an average, about 80% of the woolen products exported out of India are carpets. The value of woolen items exported increased by 4% to US$ 1.64 billion in 2020-21 from US$ 1.57 billion of 2019-20. For FY 2021-22 (until January 2022), India exported wool carpets worth US$ 1.34 billion
During 2021-22 (until January 2022), the woolen yarn and fabrics exported from India were valued at Rs. 994.37 crore (US$ 121.29 million).
In FY 2022-23 (until September 2022) exports of ready-made garments (RMG) stood at US$ 8,127.3 million showing a growth of 10.8% over FY 2021-22.
Together, the ready-made garments, carpets, woolen yarn and fabrics exports from India during FY 2021-22 (until January 2022) was Rs. 12,877.52 crore (US$ 1.57 billion). From 2017-18 till 2021-22 (until January 2022), the total exports grew at a CAGR of about 2.7%.
Major Importers
India exports woolen yarn fabrics, hand-made carpets and ready-made garments to Italy, Korea, the UK, the USA, Sri Lanka, Germany, Australia, the UAE, Sweden, Netherland, Oman, Afghanistan, Tanzania, etc. The USA is a major importer of woolen products from India with 2020-21 exports at US$ 855.6 million. The UK and Germany are the two large exporters with 2020-21 exports valued at US$ 81.2 million and US$ 97.5 million. The value of exports to the UAE, Sweden and Netherlands for the year 2020-21 was US$ 38.5 million, US$ 32.9 million and US$ 34 million, respectively.
The woolen fabrics are mainly exported to Italy, Korea, the UK, the USA, Sri Lanka, Germany and Australia. During 2020-21, these countries imported Rs. 513.9 crore (US$ 64.5 million) worth of yarn fabrics from India, a share of 64% out of the total yarn exports. Italy was the major importer during the same period at 17.5%.
The woolen carpets are majorly exported to the USA. During 2020-21, the country imported Rs. 6300.9 crore (US$ 791 million) worth of carpets from India, with a share of about 58% of total carpet exports. The top 7 woolen carpets export destinations (i.e. the USA, Germany, Australia, the UK, the UAE, Sweden and Netherlands) accounted for 81% of the total exports from India during 2020-21.
The ready-made woolen garments are mainly exported to the USA, Oman, Afghanistan, Germany, France, Netherlands and Tanzania. These countries combined accounted for 56% of the total woolen garments exports from India.
Government Initiatives
Integrated Wool Development Pragramme (IWDP)
To develop the wool sector of India, the Ministry of Textiles formulated an Integrated Wool Development Programme (IWDP). This scheme is formulated to improve the country's competitiveness and quality of woolen products. Under IWDP, the ministry has allocated Rs. 126 crore (US$ 1.66 million) as a part of a five year plan (i.e 2021-22 to 2025-26). This scheme aims to harmonize the wool supply chain, link the wool industry and producers and provide a marketing platform to the smaller woolen products manufacturers in India. Through this scheme, the Ministry of Textiles aims to improve the quality of woolen products by increasing wool testing, improve the tools available for manufacturing and providing skill development and capacity building capabilities to the hand-made manufacturers.
The various components of this scheme have been allocated appropriate budgets. About 63% of the total Rs. 126 crore (US$ 1.66 million) budget has been allocated towards the Wool Processing Scheme (WPS), Human Resource Development and promotional Activities Scheme and the Pashmina Wool Development Scheme (PWDS). Rs. 20 crore (US$ 2.5 million) have been allocated for the establishment and administrative expenses of the Nodal Agency and Rs. 12.42 crore (US$ 1.56 million) are reserved for the Wool Marketing Scheme (WMS) of the overall wool development scheme in India.
Governing Bodies
Ministry of Textile
The Ministry of Textile is the Indian government national agency dedicated towards planning, policy and regulations, development and promotion of the textile industry in the country. The apex body for textile has many statutory bodies, export promotion councils, autonomous bodies, research associations and registered societies.
The principal functional areas of the Ministry of Textile are, textile policy and coordination, cotton textile industry, jute industry, wool & woolen industry, export promotion, planning and economic analysis, financial matters and information technology.
Central Wool Development Board (CWDB)
Established in 1987, the CWDB was formed to harmonize various diversified interests among different sectors of wool industry for integrated policy development of the industry.
The responsibilities of the board are the development of wool and woolen industry, marketing intelligence and products, price stabilization, testing of wool and woolens, product development and mainly advising the government in policy formations and coordination.
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