Imports of textiles and textile articles too dipped by 23.2 per cent to $1.262 billion, while clothing and accessories imports fell 20.3 per cent to $124.4 million during January-July 2020.

In July 2020, Sri Lanka’s earnings from textiles and garment exports fell by 1.4 per cent to $469.2 million, compared to exports of $475.6 million in the same month of 2019. "With the considerable increase in earnings from personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face masks and protective suits, which are categorised under other made up articles, earnings from textiles and garments declined only marginally by 1.4 per cent in July 2020, led by lower garments exports to the US and the EU," the central bank said in its report ‘External Sector Performance – July 2020’.

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Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s expenditure on textiles and textile articles fell in July 2020 by 20.7 per cent year-on-year to $197.1 million, and clothing and accessories imports were down by 38.7 per cent to $13.4 million. “The reduction in import expenditure of textiles and textile articles was led by lower imports of fabrics and yarn,” the central bank said.

In 2019, Sri Lanka earned $5.596 billion in textiles and apparel exports, registering a growth of 5.2 per cent year-on-year. Of this, clothing exports alone accounted for $5.205 billion. On the other hand, imports increased by 1.8 per cent to $2.909 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)