UK's clothing imports down 12.2% to $1.41 bn in May 2024

15 Jul '24

3 min read

UK's clothing imports down 12.2% to $1.41 bn in May 2024

Pic: Adobe Stock

Insights

In May 2024, the UK's clothing imports were £1.092 billion, a 12.21 per cent decline year-on-year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Textile fabric imports decreased by 5.73 per cent to £444 million, while fibre imports dropped to £32 million.
For Q1 2024, clothing imports totalled £3.265 billion, down 20.57 per cent from Q1 2023.

In May 2024, the United Kingdom’s clothing imports amounted to £1.092 billion (~$1.41 billion), representing a 12.21 per cent decline from the previous year’s £1.244 billion for the same month. Additionally, there was a month-on-month decrease from April 2024’s figure of £1.295 billion, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The imports of textile fabric in May 2024 decreased by 5.73 per cent to £444 million, compared with £471 million in May 2023. However, there was a month-on-month increase from April 2024’s £465 million. Meanwhile, the UK’s fibre imports in May 2024 were £32 million, down from May 2023’s £34 million and April 2024’s £42 million.

During the first quarter of 2024, the UK’s clothing imports totalled £3.265 billion (~$4.23 billion), which was 20.57 per cent lower than the import value of £4.111 billion in the first quarter of 2023. The inbound shipments were also lower than the imports of £3.714 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. Fabric imports were noted at £1.274 billion, and textile fibres at £83 million in January-March 2024. The import values of fabric and textile fibres were noted at £1.422 billion and £113 million, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2023.

In 2023, the UK's clothing imports reached £15.702 billion ($20.33 billion), down 25.94 per cent from the inbound shipments of £21.203 billion in 2022. The imports of fabric and textile fibres were noted at £5.547 billion and £413 million in 2023, down from £6.357 billion and £562 million in 2022, respectively. The imports of clothing, fabric, and textile fibres were recorded at £17.034 billion, £5.996 billion, and £458 million, respectively, in 2021.

Regarding exports, the UK's clothing sector generated £274 million in May 2024, down from £304 million in May 2023. The figure for April 2024 was £269 million. The exports of textile fabric in May 2024 eased to £235 million, compared with £236 million in May 2023. There was a month-on-month decrease from April 2024’s £240 million. The UK’s fibre exports in May 2024 were £52 million, a drop from May 2023’s £56 million and April 2024’s £61 million.

During the first quarter of 2024, clothing exports totalled £833 million, against the shipment of £951 million in Q1 2023 and £987 million in Q4 2023. The outbound shipments of textile fabric and fibre were noted at £697 million and £162 million in the first quarter of 2024.

In 2023, clothing exports decreased to £3.772 billion ($4.88 billion) from £3.931 billion in 2022 and £4.263 billion in 2021. Exports of textile fabrics and fibres in 2023 were £2.737 billion and £667 million, respectively. Exports of textile fabrics and fibres in 2022 were noted at £2.716 billion and £616 million, respectively.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)

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