As the last year unfolded, 48-year-old Anil Peshawari, Managing Partner of Meenu Creations, an apparel export firm says he learnt the art of cutting corners and surviving on the thinnest margins. In his Noida facility, as Peshawari extends a warm hello, he adds that this is the worst he has seen in 12 years.

Peshawari has been supplying to retail chains such as Inditex Group in Spain, Pooki in France and Orsay in Poland for the past 12 years. With a turnover of Rs 140 crore, Peshawari is part of the Indian export growth story, which accomplished $185 billion in 2008-09 from $63 billion in 2003-04. As India?s share of global merchandise trade rose from 0.83% in 2003 to 1.45% in 2008, it seemed things would just get better from here. ?After the European experience, we were all set to venture into the American dream,? he says.

Then came the recession, which was a nightmare. Indian exports started to fall from October 2008 and by January 2009, India managed only $12,381 million, which was 15.9% lower than $14,717 million during January 2008. To boost exports amidst the global slowdown, Kamal Nath, then commerce and industry minister, announced trade facilitation measures, export incentives and special packages in February. The efforts did not reap much dividend, as exports fell by 33.3% in March and 33.2% in April, as compared to 2008. ?The industry was in a very bad situation. With the US and European economy going down, the effect on apparel export was tremendous. For us, it was a different case, as one of our buyers was very bullish. But that was not the standard industry situation,? recalls Peshawari.

Prices, he says, started to come under too much constraint. ?In recession, consumer products like clothes are the first to get hit, both in terms of quantity and prices. The industry was trying to sustain with very low prices. However, the overheads kept increasing through the year. So it was a constant battle to stay afloat,? he says, adding, ?Bankruptcies filed by buyers in the US and Europe made matters worse. Orders were cancelled, shipments were stalled and everyone had their share of jittery moments.? What added to the woes for the sector was the difficultly in coping with foreign exchange volatility. With the US dollar falling, Indian exporters were at a constant loss. India?s exports during July 2009 were valued at $13,623 million, 28.4% lower in dollar terms than the level of $19,036 million during July 2008. For August, the story was no different. India managed exports worth $14,289 million, 19.4% lower in dollar terms than the level of $17,724 million during August 2008.

A UNCTAD study painted an equally dismal picture, which estimated 1.3 million job losses in Indian export units in the fiscal due to slowdown in the developed countries. It pointed out that apparel, handicrafts, gems and jewellery were the worst-hit sectors.

?Volatility of currency exchange will decide in which direction the export sector will go from here. If the government strikes a balance between incentives and the currency fluctuations, we will see a bright future,? says Peshawari. The revival came with signs of global recovery and stimulus packages showing their impact and by September, things started to get better.

The government announced stimulus packages and supplemented it with the Five-Year foreign trade policy, in which a series of fiscal incentives for promotion of exports were announced starting from FY10. Indian exports were valued at $13,608 million, which was 13.8% lower in dollar terms than the level of $15,789 million during September, 2008.

A visible improvement was evident with October figures revealing stabilisation for the sector, as the decline in exports in October was only 6.6% in dollar terms, $13.19 billion in October 2009 vis-?-vis $14.13 billion in October, 2008.

?The intensity of the decline in exports to -6.6% in October from a level of -35.5% in April is definitely encouraging, but the road in not absolutely smooth from here. Even as the situation is improving, the recession is still not over. Buyers are reducing their selling prices and want us to reduce our prices tremendously, forcing us to work on extremely thin margins. Textile is the second-largest employment generator in the country. Due to inflation and increasing prices of basic commodities, workers have been hit badly and salary hikes is a big issue,? says Peshawari.

Adding to the optimism of recovery in industrial output and overall economy, India?s exports reversed a 13-month fall to grow by 18% in November. Gems and jewellery grew over 40% to $2.15 billion in the month, readymade garment shipments grew to $727 million, while man-made fibre and petro products also fuelled growth. As Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma pointed out, ?Even in difficult times, we would like to achieve an annual export growth of 15% over 2010-11 and in the remaining three years, we should be able to come back on the high export growth path of around 25% per annum.?

?Creativity and inspiration are India?s USP and it is with this that we plan to step into the US market in 2010,? sums up Peshawari.