Apparel exports bag half-a-billion haul hat-trick

• August shipments valued at $ 534 m, up 22.6% YoY and second highest after record $ 537 m achieved in June
• First eight months’ exports at $ 3.84 b, up 20.24% YoY

By Charumini de Silva

The apparel industry has maintained its momentum of a half-a-billion export haul for a third consecutive month in August, driving the first eight months› performance to near the $ 4 billion mark.

As per provisional data from the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), exports in August were up by 19.05% to $ 534.85 million, from a year ago.

The robust performance in August is the second high, as $ 537 million achieved in June is the top record, reaffirming the sheer resilience of the private sector driven industry. The previous highest for any month was $ 504 million achieved in March 2019.

The cumulative exports from January and August were up by 20.24% to $ 3.84 billion from the corresponding period of 2021 and $ 3.5 billion in pre-COVID 2019.

In August apparel exports to the US grew by 18.41% to $ 229.91 million, exports to the EU grew by 24.5% to $ 156.38 million, and to the UK by 3.4% to $ 60.18 million. In August exports to other markets were also up 23.82% to $ 88.38 million.

From January to August 2022, exports to the US grew by 25.8% to $ 1.6 billion, to the EU by 15.8% to $ 1.1 billion, and to the UK by 16.22% to $ 515.65 million. Exports to other markets were up 17.7% to $ 572.88 million.

Despite strong performance so far in 2022, industry stakeholders are uncertain about prospects for the remainder of the year, mainly due to the rising inflation in the US and the EU. The looming energy crisis in the EU and UK during this winter is also another concerning factor that points to depressed market sentiments.