The Indian textile industry has suffered a loss of over Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) due to the Iraq war and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome scare.

According to industry experts, mid-sized export houses were the worst hit. Almost 60 buyers had cancelled their visits to India this year and there has been a huge drop in the number of orders, initial estimates said.

Most foreign buyers visit the country in March and April to place their annual orders. Though the initial loss for the Indian industry is huge, textile exporters are hopeful they can now eat into China's market share with the outbreak of SARS there.

"We are hoping that a large share of the business comes to us. India has not been affected by SARS till now, and if we can maintain this a lot of business may later come into India. Importers who have been doing business with China will now come to us," an industry expert said.

"We are hopeful that some of the buyers who have cancelled their visit to India will come later. But this can only happen if the epidemic is controlled in time," DK Jain of the Jaipur-based Ratan Textiles said. Ratan Textiles has a large American clientele.

The promoter of the Mumbai-based Raney and Co, Prem Raney, said people have stopped traveling to Asian countries particularly due the Iraq war.

"We generally have about 12 buyers visiting us around this time but this year we have had only six," Raney said.

Industry analysts said the bigger companies have still been able to arrest losses as a large part of their businesses is done online.

India's current share in the global market is estimated at $13 billion with only 3 per cent market share. The domestic industry is estimated at Rs 43,000 crore (Rs 430 billion) with the branded market being only about Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion).

The domestic textile industry has in the meanwhile welcomed the government's decision to remove the Rs 1 crore exemption.