New Delhi, Feb. 20 -- India's dependence on Chinese raw materials for garment manufacturing, particularly in the innerwear segment, is hurting the domestic industry. As prices of key inputs have surged, exports in this category have sharply declined over the past three years (FY22-FY24), raising concerns about the long-term impact of reliance on China, two people aware of the matter said.

The rise in raw material costs by 20% to 30% for cotton yarn, spandex, synthetic fibres and elastics, many of which are sourced from China, is a major reason for the decline in exports of innerwear, said the first of the two persons cited earlier, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

This input cost surge is largely due to the ongoing supp...