Among the top ten export markets, shipments to Mexico increased by 1.88 per cent, reaching $6.522 billion between January and November 2024.
In contrast, exports to Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, China, Nicaragua, Canada, Honduras, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Japan recorded declines of up to 16.54 per cent. During this period, the US exported $4.906 billion worth of textiles and apparel to Canada, $1,114.695 million to Honduras, $656.984 million to China, and $585.150 million to the Dominican Republic.
By category, apparel exports experienced a modest decline of 3.00 per cent year-on-year, totalling $6.571 billion. Fabric exports fell by 2.75 per cent to $7.485 billion, while yarn exports dropped by 2.31 per cent to $3.736 billion. Exports of made-up articles and miscellaneous items saw a slight decrease of 1.17 per cent, amounting to $3.508 billion.
In 2023, US textile and apparel exports dropped by 5.02 per cent to $23.617 billion, following a 9.77 per cent increase in 2022, which had reached $24.866 billion compared to $22.652 billion in 2021. Over the past decade, annual exports have generally ranged between $22 billion and $25 billion, with significant figures including $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)