UAE apparel, home textiles & fabric exports to rise in 2021: TexPro

26 Apr '21

3 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

The exports of apparel, home textiles and fabrics from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are expected to show a notable increase in 2021 with continuous rise in overseas and domestic demand. Progress of vaccination drive, Expo 2020 Dubai, government incentives, increased e-commerce spending and sharp growth of digitalisation are expected to push exports.

UAE’s apparel exports in 2019 stood at $142.60 million with monthly average of $11.88 million. This figure moved down to $122.76 million in 2020 with fall of 13.91 per cent, due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected to increase to monthly average of $10.55 million during January-August 2021 from monthly average of $10.23 million in 2020, according to Fibre2Fashion's market intelligence tool TexPro.

UAE’s home textiles exports in 2019 were $131.00 million with the monthly average of $10.92 million. The figure rose to $136.16 million in 2020 with slight rise of 3.94 per cent despite the impact of COVID-19 pandemic all over the world. It is further expected to boost to monthly average of $13.03 million during January-August 2021 from monthly average of $11.35 million in 2020 with an increase of 14.83 per cent, as per TexPro.

Fabrics exports of the country in 2019 remained at $76.22 million with monthly average of $6.35 million. This figure declined with a higher rate of 45.80 per cent to $41.31 million in 2020. But it is further expected to boost to monthly average of $4.61 million during January-August 2021 from monthly average of $3.44 million in 2020, showing a rise of 33.99 per cent.

Around 40 per cent of the UAE population has already been vaccinated against COVID-19, and this has given a boost to the country's trade. The Expo 2020 Dubai which is scheduled to start on October 1, 2021, is anticipated to further stimulate the textiles and apparels trade of the country.

In addition to these, the UAE government has provided an incentive to business sectors at the federal and local levels. The UAE led the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for spending on e-commerce which is approximately double the global average and four times the average spending in MENA region. Further, the sharp growth of digitalisation during COVID-19 has created new trade opportunities for the country.

The UAE government’s export credit company ECI (Etihad Credit Insurance) recently signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) of India to explore and boost trade and economic cooperation between two nations.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Indo-Israel Chambers of Commerce (IFIICC) has planned the business collaborations of two nations including Israel and India through IFIICC’s leadership across different sectors. According to Ilan Sztulman Starosta, head of the Israeli mission in Dubai, the collaboration backed by Israeli innovation, UAE’s visionary leadership and strategic partnership of both nations with India may boost the trilateral trade among the nations and may cross the mark of $100 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS & JL)

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