Country’s apparel and diamond exporters see a 10 to 15 per cent jump in sales this year, due to an upswing in orders from the US. However, sluggishness in the European market could cap gains.

With a robust order line from the US for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year celebrations, apparel exporters said sales in 2014-15 could cross 17billion US dollars compared with 15billion US dollar a year ago. Exports of polished diamond, which stood at 19billion US dollar in 2013-14, too are expected to report a similar uptrend.

“US demand is much better this year compared to last year. We have already shipped garments for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” managing director of a Kolkata-based apparel brand said. “For the New Year, importers want the products to reach by January, as they are not keen to create a large inventory. Europe continuous to be sluggish and we do not see a sudden surge in demand from the region. Had there been demand from Europe, we would have been able to achieve higher exports this year.”

In September, India’s apparel exports stood at 293.6million US dollars, up by 15.9 per cent from a year ago. For the first six months of the fiscal the sector reported sales worth 8,369million US dollars, up by 17.6 per cent from the same period of the previous year. Yarn and fabric sector, however, has not been as fortunate, business sources said.