India’s opportunity in Japan has moved beyond a trade-policy discussion into a measurable commercial gap, but India has yet to capture a significant share of it. Japan’s apparel imports from China have fallen for four straight years to $**.** billion in ****, and China’s share of the market fall below half in ****. Yet India, which has shipped garments to Japan duty-free since ****, still accounts for under * per cent. Much of the share ceded by China has instead gone to Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Buyers are driving the shift from China
The change appears structural rather than temporary. Japan’s apparel imports from China have fallen by more than ** per cent since ****, when they stood at $**.** billion, according to Japan Customs. By ****, China accounted for less than half of Japan’s clothing imports, a level not seen in decades.
