In October 2019, Sri Lanka’s earnings from textiles and garment exports remained positive and the island nation earned $441.6 million from textiles and clothing exports, registering an increase of 3.5 per cent over exports of $426.6 million during the same month of 2018. “Earnings from textiles and garments increased in October 2019 following the slight decline recorded in September 2019, on a year-on-year basis, supported by higher demand for garment exports from all major markets,” the central bank said in its report ‘External Sector Performance – October 2019’.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s expenditure on textiles and textile articles decreased in October 2019 by 0.9 per cent year-on-year to $277.1 million, and clothing and accessories imports were up by 18.2 cent to $26.9 million. “Import expenditure on textiles and textile articles declined marginally, led by lower yarn and fabric imports,” the central bank said.
In 2018, Sri Lanka earned $5.317 billion in textiles and apparel exports, registering a growth of 5.7 per cent year-on-year. Of this, clothing exports alone accounted for $4.960.8 billion. On the other hand, imports increased by 4.9 per cent to $2.858 billion.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)