Tunisian textile exports decline in H1

21 Jul '15

2 min read

There was a decrease in the value of textile and garment exports made by the north African country of Tunisia in the first six months of 2015.

From January to June 2015, the exports of textile, apparel and leather fetched 3,146.8 million dinars (approx. $1.585 billion), registering a decline of 5.55 per cent over exports worth 3,331.9 million dinars made during the corresponding months of the last year, according to the data from the National Institute of Statistics.

In 2014, Tunisian textile, garment and leather sector earned 6,460.8 million dinars in exports, registering an increase of 3.75 per cent over 2013 exports of 6,227.2 million dinars.

On the import front, Tunisian textile, apparel and leather sector spent 2,377.8 million dinars during the initial six months of 2015, showing a dip of 2.5 per cent over imports of 2,439 million dinars made during the same period last year.

Tunisian textile, clothing and leather imports grew 7.74 per cent last year to 4,820 million dinars from imports of 4,473.5 million dinars in 2013.

According to the recent statistics released by the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation, there are a total of 1,790 textile and garment manufacturing units in Tunisia which employ 10 or more persons, of which, 1,503 units produce for export markets.

These 1,790 textile and apparel units together employ 170,858 people, of which 154,884 positions are with wholly exporting enterprises and 15,974 positions are with other than totally exporting.

The textile and apparel sector is the largest employer and the second-largest foreign exchange earner for Tunisia, the smallest country in terms of land area in northern Africa. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India

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