US textile imports rise in 2012; apparel imports dip

12 Feb '13

2 min read

The imports of textiles by the US increased 1.8 percent year-on-year to 30.4 billion square metre equivalents (SME) during 2012, while clothing imports decreased 0.8 percent year-on-year to 23.7 billion SME, according to the figures released by the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA).

Overall, the textile and garment exports by the US rose marginally by 0.7 percent year-on-year to 54 billion SME.

The marginal increase in textile and apparel imports during the year was due to a 6.7 percent year-on-year jump in December 2012 imports, as retailers stocked textiles and clothing for the Christmas holiday season.

In December 2012, US textile imports increased by 2.08 percent year-on-year to 2.25 billion SME, while apparel imports grew significantly by 13.23 percent y-o-y to 1.785 billion SME, OTEXA data showed.

China continued to be the top exporter of textiles and garments to the US and it supplied 1.88 billion SME in December, up 4.5 percent over the corresponding month of previous year.

Vietnam, India and Pakistan were other leading exporters of textiles and apparels to the US during the month supplying 274 million SME, 238 million SME and 164 million SME, respectively.

In terms of apparel, China supplied 729 million SME to the US in December, up 11.67 percent year-on-year, followed by Vietnam and Bangladesh which supplied 174 million SME, up 27.99 percent, and 99 million SME, up 13.41 percent, respectively.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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