US textile & apparel imports up 7.26% in Jan-Feb 2018

Apparel constituted the bulk of the textiles and garments imports made by the US in January-February 2017, and were valued at $13.588 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for the remaining $4.354 billion, according to the latest Major Shippers Report, released by the US department of commerce.

Segment-wise, among the top ten apparel suppliers to the US, exports from Cambodia showed double-digit growth of 14.75 per cent year-on-year. On the other hand, imports from Indonesia and Sri Lanka registered a decline of 0.70 per cent and 5.66 per cent respectively, compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, exports from Vietnam, China and Italy shot up by 106.64 per cent, 31.34 per cent and 29.84 per cent year-on-year to $110.823 million, $2.041 billion and $93.287 million, respectively. Imports from Mexico and Turkey too grew by 18.20 per cent and 14.57 per cent.

Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $17.943 billion during the period under review, cotton products were worth $8.018 billion, while man-made fibre products accounted for $9.049 billion, followed by $485.626 million of wool products and $390.063 million of products from silk and vegetable fibres.

In 2016, the US textile and apparel imports had increased by 1.27 per cent year-on-year to $105.992 billion, with apparel alone accounting for $80.286 billion. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India