20 Jun ’24
Pic: Adobe Stock
Insights
- Sri Lankan apparel exports to the EU reached $417.814 million from Jan-Apr, showing promise for the year.
- Overall, garment exports totalled $4,445.927 million in 2023, down from a peak of $5,512.597 million in 2022.
- Exports had previously been $4,973.962 million in 2021 and $3,943.156 million in 2020.
- Global demand surged post-COVID, peaking in 2022.
Sri Lankan apparel exports to the European Union (EU) reached $417.814 million from January to April 2024. This trade performance raises hopes of better apparel shipments from Sri Lanka to the economic bloc throughout 2024. Outbound trade dipped last year after a surge in 2022.
According to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro, the island country exported apparel worth $1,361.792 million in 2023. This shipment value dipped by 17.76 per cent from the $1,655.538 million recorded in 2022.
Like other apparel-exporting countries, Sri Lankan garment exports peaked in 2022 over the last six years. Following COVID-related disruptions in 2020 and 2021, global garment and textile demand reached its peak.
Sri Lanka’s garment exports to the EU were noted at $1,406.757 million in 2019. This figure dipped to $1,186.605 million in 2020 due to lockdowns and restrictions. After the easing of COVID protocols, shipments bounced back to $1,497.096 million in 2021, further increasing to $1,655.538 million in 2022.
According to TexPro, Sri Lanka’s total garment exports to the world amounted to $1,441.060 million in the first four months of this year. Therefore, the EU accounts for 28.93 per cent of this total. Garment exports to the entire Europe were around $650 million in the same period, which was approximately 45 per cent of the total.
Sri Lanka’s total garment exports amounted to $4,445.927 million in 2023, down from their peak of $5,512.597 million in 2022. In previous years, exports were recorded at $4,973.962 million in 2021, $3,943.156 million in 2020, and $5,210.227 million in 2019.