Due to Covid-19 restrictions, and workers reluctant to return to from their hometowns to factories as India’s second wave remains severe, the 3,000 garment manufacturing units in India’s Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC), located just outside New Delhi, are operating at limited capacity, with 40 to 50 percent of their regular workforce, according to an Economic Times report.

This is leading international buyers to look elsewhere to place orders, with NAEC president, Lalit Thukral, estimating that 20 percent of business has already moved to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

“The western markets have revived and other garment manufacturing Asian countries are not as affected by Covid now as India is, so this year, there is a demand for ready made garments. We are losing out because there is concern among international buyers about whether we will be able to deliver,” Thukral said.