US textiles & apparel imports up 26.79% in Jan-May 2021

Apparel constituted the bulk of textiles and garments imports made by the US during the initial five months of this year, and were valued at $29.219 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for the remaining $12.470 billion, according to the latest Major Shippers Report, released by the US department of commerce.

Segment-wise, among the top ten apparel suppliers to the US, imports from Honduras and Pakistan shot up by 59.54 per cent and 58.52 per cent year-on-year respectively. On the other hand, imports from Indonesia registered a decline of 1.75 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, imports from India, Turkey, Italy and China soared by 66.69 per cent, 64.61 per cent, 49.00 per cent and 41.59 per cent, respectively. The sharp rise in numbers is due to the base effect, as imports were disrupted last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $41.689 billion during the period under review, cotton products were worth $18.606 billion, while man-made fibre products accounted for $21.252 billion, followed by $975.868 million of products from silk and vegetable fibres, and $854.580 million of wool products.

In 2020, the US textile and apparel imports had decreased sharply, mainly on account of the COVID-19 pandemic induced disruption, to $89.602 billion compared to imports of $111.033 billion in 2019.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)