Chandni Chowk textile pain
Traders in Chandni Chowk’s textile market report stalled exports and rising production costs, leaving supply stacked above demand and creating commercial stress for the old‑city textile trade. (etvbharat.com) The report ties the slowdown to Middle East disruption, signalling pressure on merchants who rely on export channels and fast turnover in narrow lanes. (etvbharat.com)
Textile traders in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk say exports have stalled and fabric costs have risen, leaving wholesale stock piled up in one of Old Delhi’s busiest markets. (etvbharat.com) ETV Bharat reported on April 12, 2026 that traders in the market were facing a “double whammy” of inflation and weak demand. Traders told the outlet clothing material prices had risen by 7% to 10%. (etvbharat.com) The immediate complaint is that export orders linked to the Middle East have slowed or stopped, pushing more goods into the domestic market. Traders said that shift has upset the balance between supply and demand and made fast-turnover wholesale business harder to sustain. (etvbharat.com) That local pain is landing at a time when India’s textile trade had been growing on paper. The Ministry of Textiles told Parliament on March 21, 2025 that textile and apparel exports, including handicrafts, rose 7% in April-December 2024 from a year earlier. (pib.gov.in) The same ministry said India accounts for about 4% of global textile and apparel exports. Its 2025 annual report said textile and apparel, including handicrafts, made up 8.21% of India’s total exports in 2023-24. (pib.gov.in) (texmin.gov.in) More recent export numbers have turned softer in apparel. The Apparel Export Promotion Council said ready-made garment exports fell 8.60% in February 2026, while April 2025 to February 2026 exports were up just 0.51% at $14.53 billion. (aepcindia.com) (textilevaluechain.in) A Dun & Bradstreet white paper cited last week said the Gulf-Levant region accounts for nearly 15% of India’s merchandise exports and about 21% of its imports. The report said disruption in the Middle East is spreading through energy prices, shipping routes and supply chains. (knnindia.co.in) (ebmnews.com) For Chandni Chowk’s cloth lanes, that means trouble at both ends of the business: higher input costs and weaker export demand. Traders told ETV Bharat they expect conditions to get harder if the disruption lasts, with more inventory stuck on shelves and less cash moving through the market. (etvbharat.com)
