Imports of textiles and textile articles were up by 1.8 per cent to $2.909 billion, while clothing and accessories imports fell 11.3 per cent to $275.1 million during the year.
In December 2019, Sri Lanka’s earnings from textiles and garment exports remained positive and the island nation earned $483.2 million from textiles and clothing exports, registering a decrease of 2.1 per cent over exports of $493.4 million during the same month of 2018. Lower textiles and garment exports were "due to dampened demand from the EU and the US, despite an increase recorded in exports to non-traditional markets such as Canada, Australia and China," the central bank said in its report ‘External Sector Performance – December 2019’.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s expenditure on textiles and textile articles increased in December 2019 by 2.8 per cent year-on-year to $248.3 million, and clothing and accessories imports were down by 10.7 per cent to $24 million. “Expenditure on textiles and textile articles increased, led by higher fabric and fibre imports,” the central bank said.
In 2018, Sri Lanka earned $5.317 billion in textiles and apparel exports, registering a growth of 5.7 per cent year-on-year. Of this, clothing exports alone accounted for $4.960.8 billion. On the other hand, imports increased by 4.9 per cent to $2.858 billion.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)