Sri Lankan textile exports turn positive in Sep '15

09 Dec '15

2 min read

After showing downtrend for few months, textile and garment exports from the island nation of Sri Lanka bounced back to show positive trend in September 2015.

During the month, export earnings from textiles and garments, which account for around 48 per cent of total exports increased by 1.8 per cent year-on-year to $411.2 million, data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka showed.

The increase in export earnings reflect “a considerable expansion in garments exports to non-traditional markets such as Canada, Australia, India, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong,” the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank said in its press release on external sector performance for the month.

Cumulative textile and garment exports for January-September 2015 stood at $3.629 billion, registering a decline of 0.8 per cent compared to exports of $3.659 billion during the corresponding period of last year, the data showed.

Textiles and apparel accounted for about 59.67 per cent of all industrial exports and about 45.39 per cent of all exports made by the South Asian nation during the nine-month period.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's expenditure on import of textiles and textile articles increased by 2.8 per cent year-on-year to $1.715 billion during the nine-month period under review. However, September imports dropped significantly by 15.5 per cent to $168.2 million, as against imports of $199.1 million during the same month last year.

In 2014, Sri Lankan textiles and garments exports increased by 9.4 per cent year-on-year to $4.929 billion. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India