In the January to June period, raw wool, wool top and yarn imports (in volume terms) to Japan were all unchanged from the same period last year, while wool apparel imports increased moderately, in both volume and value terms, making up for a drop in wool fabric imports.
Wool knitwear, the main contributor to the modest growth in wool apparel imports, jumped from year earlier levels to the highest level in at least in 10 years for the January to June period. This is likely more attributable to a change in timing, than a major change in the trends, as first-half imports usually account for less than 10% of the annual wool knitwear imports to Japan.
Wool women's wear imports were also strong in the first six months of 2007 with growth led by imports of jackets and skirts/trousers. Growth in imports of women's wool apparel and knitwear exceeded growth in imports of other fibres.
Men's wool garment imports experienced a small decrease overall. Active jacket imports were up, making up for the decline in suit and trouser imports, and imports of men's suits, the core sales item for wool in Japan, also fell. Wool suit imports to Japan showed a recovery in the second quarter, after dropping in the first quarter of 2007.
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
