Sri Lanka’s apparel export earnings could slump by US $ 1 billion this year as a result of the demand slowdown in key export markets amid rising inflation and higher interest rates, a Reuters news report said quoting a top official of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF).  
During the first quarter of 2023, apparel and textile exports declined 13.8 percent year-on-year to US $ 1.3 billion and March exports hit a three-year low. 
“Given the slowdown in demand we are seeing now, a US $ 1 billion reduction in exports this year is not unreasonable,” JAAF Secretary General Yohan Lawrence was quoted as saying.
“Our projection is it could be five to six more months before we see a recovery in global demand.”
Apparel remains Sri Lanka’s largest industrial export and such exports earned US $ 5.95 billion in 2022 for the dollar-starving country.
The largest buyers of Sri Lanka’s apparels and textiles are the US, European Union and the United Kingdom.
During the first quarter of this year, exports to the US fell 22 percent YoY to US $ 470 million while exports to the EU declined 13 percent YoY to US $ 344 million.
Exports to the UK fell 10 percent YoY to US $ 167.7 million.
However, according to the Reuters report, the industry is not expecting major job losses from the downturn but small and medium companies could see difficulties as the sector adapts to deal with a slowdown in orders.
The apparel sector has about 300,000 employees, most of whom are women.