|
South Africa's textile trade edges up as regional demand strengthens

03 Dec '25

2 min read

South Africa's textile trade edges up as regional demand strengthens

Pic: Shutterstock.com

Insights

South Africa's textile and apparel imports rose slightly to **.*** billion rand (~$*.*** billion) in January–October 2025, reflecting stable sourcing from key Asian suppliers.
Exports grew *.* per cent to **.*** billion rand, supported by AfCFTA-driven regional demand and improved home-textile shipments.
October trade activity strengthened markedly.

In the same period of ****, imports stood at **,***.* million rand, indicating broadly stable sourcing patterns despite shifts in domestic consumer sentiment, retail inventory adjustments and currency volatility. South Africa remains structurally dependent on imported textiles and apparel, sourcing heavily from low-cost Asian supply chains, particularly China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam, due to limited cost competitiveness, scale constraints and persistent manufacturing bottlenecks in the domestic industry.

Exports of textiles and related articles expanded more strongly, rising *.* per cent to **,***.* million rand (~$*.*** billion) in January–October ****, compared with **,***.* million rand in the previous year. This rise can be attributed to ongoing regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), stronger access to Southern African retail networks and a gradual recovery in apparel, bedding and home-textile categories.