Among the top ten markets, exports to Mexico increased by 3.91 per cent, reaching $4.174 billion in January-June 2024.

In contrast, exports to Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, China, Nicaragua, Canada, Honduras, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Japan declined by up to 23.05 per cent. During this period, the US exported $3.050 billion worth of textiles and apparel to Canada, $700.849 million to Honduras, $416.739 million to China, and $365.817 million to the Dominican Republic.

By category, apparel exports decreased slightly by 3.33 per cent year-on-year to $4.058 billion. Fabric exports dropped by 3.54 per cent to $4.745 billion, while yarn exports fell by 5.35 per cent to $2.386 billion. Exports of made-up articles and miscellaneous items saw a marginal decrease of 0.40 per cent to $2.230 billion.

In 2023, US textile and apparel exports declined by 5.02 per cent to $23.617 billion, following a 9.77 per cent increase to $24.866 billion in 2022, compared to $22.652 billion in 2021. In recent years, these exports have consistently ranged between $22 billion and $25 billion annually, with notable figures being $24.418 billion in 2014, $23.622 billion in 2015, $22.124 billion in 2016, $22.671 billion in 2017, $23.467 billion in 2018, $22.905 billion in 2019, and $19.330 billion in 2020.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)