Imports of textile yarn, fabrics, and made-up articles (classified under code 65) also rose by 5.86 per cent, reaching $1.985 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal, compared to $1.875 billion in the same period last year. Conversely, fibre imports (classified under code 26) fell by 9.09 per cent to $50 million from $55 million during the period under review.
In November 2024, imports of apparel and clothing accessories increased by 13.93 per cent to $1.014 billion, up from $0.890 billion in November 2023. Imports of textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles, and related products increased to $399 million in November 2024 from $370 million in November 2023. Fibre imports decreased to $10 million from $11 million in November 2023.
During fiscal 2023-24, Australia's apparel and clothing imports totalled $12.231 billion, a decline of 5.2 per cent from the $12.903 billion recorded in 2022-23. Similarly, imports of textile yarn and fabrics dropped by 9.40 per cent, from $4.825 billion in 2022-23 to $4.371 billion in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, Australia's exports of textile fibres (code 26) were valued at $3.485 billion during July- November 2024, marking a 9.97 per cent decrease from $3.871 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. Exports in November 2024 fell by 10.83 per cent to $584 million, compared to $655 million in November 2023.
For fiscal 2023-24, Australia exported textile fibres worth $7.053 billion, a decline of 13.97 per cent from $8.199 billion in 2022-23. Notably, Australia is a significant producer and exporter of cotton.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)