US textiles & apparel imports up 28.55% in January-August 2022

Apparel constituted the bulk of textiles and garments imported by the US in January-August 2022, and were valued at $69.274 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for $22.458 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 India and Indonesia shot up by 56.90 per cent and 56.47 per cent year-on-year respectively. Imports from Bangladesh and Cambodia too grew by 53.54 per cent and 51.64 per cent respectively. Additionally, imports from Pakistan, which is among the top 10 suppliers, registered a growth of 42.16 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, imports from Cambodia soared by 66.78 per cent year-on-year. Imports from Vietnam and Italy too climbed 27.56 per cent and 22.04 per cent respectively. On the other hand, imports from Turkey dipped by 9.23 per cent.

Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $91.733 billion during the period under review, man-made fibre products accounted for $46.868 billion, while cotton products were worth $40.048 billion, followed by $2.738 billion of wool products, and $2.077 billion of products from silk and vegetable fibres.

In 2020, the US textile and apparel imports had decreased sharply, mainly on account of the COVID-19 pandemic induced disruption, to $89.596 billion compared to imports of $111.033 billion in 2019. But imports rebounded again in 2021 to surpass the pre-pandemic level and ended at $113.938 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)