US textiles & apparel imports up 28.14% in Jan-August 2021

Apparel constituted the bulk of textiles and garments imports made by the US during the initial eight months of this year, and were valued at $50.439 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for the remaining $20.925 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 66.71 per cent, 65.69 per cent and 48.04 per cent year-on-year respectively. On the other hand, imports from Indonesia registered only a single-digit increase of 5.45 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 and Italy soared by 68.30 per cent, 59.83 per cent and 58.22 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 $71.365 billion during the period under review, cotton products were worth $31.193 billion, while man-made fibre products accounted for $36.874 billion, followed by $1.876 billion of wool products, and $1.419 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)