US textiles & apparel imports up 25.63% in Jan-Oct 2021

Apparel constituted the bulk of textiles and garments imports made by the US during the initial ten months of this year, and were valued at $66.915 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for the remaining $26.594 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, Honduras and Nicaragua shot up by 56.34 per cent, 46.47 per cent and 42.07 per cent year-on-year respectively. On the other hand, imports from Indonesia registered a growth of only 10.36 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, imports from Italy, India, and Turkey soared by 56.36 per cent, 55.17 per cent and 44.66 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 $93.510 billion during the period under review, cotton products were worth $40.479 billion, while man-made fibre products accounted for $48.537 billion, followed by $2.790 billion of wool products, and $1.703 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 $89.602 billion compared to imports of $111.033 billion in 2019.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)