US textiles & apparel imports rise 14.07% in Jan-April 2021

Apparel constituted the bulk of textiles and garments imports made by the US during the initial four months of this year, and were valued at $23.076 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for the remaining $9.738 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 Pakistan and Honduras showed growth of 29.32 per cent and 27.97 per cent year-on-year respectively. On the other hand, imports from Indonesia, Bangladesh and India registered a decline of 11.18 per cent, 3.71 per cent and 1.10 per cent respectively compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, imports from Turkey, China and India shot up by 52.86 per cent, 42.33 per cent and 39.43 per cent, respectively.

Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $32.814 billion during the period under review, cotton products were worth $14.592 billion, while man-made fibre products accounted for $16.790 billion, followed by $771.665 million of products from silk and vegetable fibres, and $659.805 million of wool products.

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

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)