Sri Lanka's textile & garment exports continue to grow

15 Jul '14

2 min read

Textiles and garments turned out to be the leading driver of growth in Sri Lanka’s industrial exports in May 2014, as a result of significant increases in exports to both traditional and non-traditional markets, says a press release on ‘External Sector Performance – May 2014’ issued by the Economics Research Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

During the month, Sri Lanka’s earnings from exports of textiles and garments grew by 14.5 percent to US$ 365.1 million, compared to earnings of $318.9 million recorded in same month last year, according to the statement.

“Sri Lanka’s apparel industry has been increasing its value addition through strategies such as backward integration, establishment of brands and improved reputation as a quality and timely apparel supplier,” the press release said.

In May 2014, Sri Lanka’s textile and textile article imports increased by 11.2 percent year-on-year to $176.4 million, indicating higher export orders for apparel products in the coming months, the data showed.

In January-May 2014, Sri Lanka’s textiles and garments exports surged 19.6 percent to $1.966 billion, as against exports of $1.643 billion made during the corresponding period of last year. On the other hand, imports of textiles and textile articles increased by 9.3 percent to $884.4 million during the five-month period, compared to imports worth $809 million made during the same period last year.

In 2013, Sri Lanka’s earnings from textile and garment exports grew by 13 percent year-on-year to $4.508 billion, while its value of imports declined by 9.7 percent year-on-year to $2.045 billion.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has set an ambitious target of achieving apparel export target of $10 billion by 2016.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India