Apparel sector earnings cross US $ 3bn

• August export revenue up 22% YoY 
• January-August export revenue expanded 2.41% YoY 

Sri Lanka’s apparel sector earnings crossed the US $ 3 billion mark with it having recorded a double-digit growth in August.

The industry saw export revenue expand by about 22 percent year-on-year (YoY) in August.

The provisional data released by Sri Lanka Customs showed that in August the apparel sector’s export earnings totalled US $ 485.62 million.

Exports to all markets show a positive growth. Exports to the United States expanded by 22.9 percent YoY to US $ 209.4 million, while exports to the European Union grew 18.84 percent YoY to US $ 140.51 million. 

Meanwhile, exports to the United Kingdom and other markets grew 17.74 percent and 30.91 percent YoY to US $ 62.39 million and US $ 73.32 million.

With the August export performance, the apparel sector saw its cumulative export earnings cross the US $ 3 billion mark.

For the first eight months ended in August, the sector generated a revenue of US $ 3.158 billion, which is a 2.41 percent increase YoY.

The cumulative analysis shows that the exports to all markets, except the European Union, show a positive variance.

Exports to the United States, United Kingdom and other markets grew 1.82 percent, 8.49 percent and 5.36 percent YoY to US $ 1.26 billion, US $ 462 million and US $ 513 million. Exports to the European Union show a marginal contraction of 1.16 percent YoY to US $ 914 million.