The garment industry maintained its momentum of a $500 million export haul for the third consecutive month in August, pushing the first eight months performance to around $4 billion.
According to preliminary figures from the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), exports increased 19.05% year on year to $534.85 million in August.
The impressive performance in August is the second highest, with the top record of $ 537 million achieved in June, proving the sheer tenacity of the private sector-driven industry. The previous monthly high was $ 504 million, set in March 2019.
From January to August, cumulative exports increased by 20.24% to $ 3.84 billion, compared to $ 3.5 billion in pre-COVID 2019.
In August, apparel exports to the United States increased by 18.41% to $ 229.91 million, while exports to the EU increased by 24.5% to $ 156.38 million and to the United Kingdom by 3.4% to $ 60.18 million. Exports to other markets increased by 23.82% in August, totaling $ 88.38 million.
From January to August 2022, exports to the US increased by 25.8% to $ 1.6 billion, 15.8% to $ 1.1 billion, and 16.22% to $ 515.65 million. Other market exports increased 17.7% to $572.88 million.
Despite a great start to 2022, industry stakeholders are concerned about the rest of the year’s prospects, owing mostly to growing inflation in the United States and the European Union. The impending energy crisis in the EU and the UK this winter is also a cause for concern, pointing to weak market sentiment.