August apparel export earnings up 7.7%

• Apparel exports to US up 21.5% to US $ 209mn
• Exports to EU down 7.5% to US $ 177mn
• Jan-Aug  apparel exports up 4.5% to US $ 3.3bn

Sri Lanka’s apparel export earnings for the month of August rose 7.7 percent from a year ago to US $ 444 million amid a significant rise in export earnings from the United States.

The apparel export earnings from the US for the month stood at US $ 209 million, up 21.51 percent from a year ago.

The US economy is seen strengthening with job creation within the country and large US corporates bringing back their moneys into the country.  

The money that came from the developed world to the emerging and frontier markets after the global financial crisis in 2008, are also returning to advanced economies as Fed keeps on raising interest rates. 

Amid the outflows, a number of emerging frontier market currencies has depreciated against the dollar.

The Sri Lankan rupee has so far this year depreciated over 10 percent against the US dollar. 

A depreciating rupee bides well with exporters but makes imports more expensive. 

The earnings from the apparel exports to the European Union (EU) however fell 7.51 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 177 million.

Apparel exports to other market rose 20.83 percent YoY to Rs. 58 million. 

The cumulative apparel export earnings in the first eight months of this year rose 4.49 percent YoY to US $ 3, 281 million and exports to both the US and EU rose 4.42 percent and 5.09 percent to US $ 1, 442 and US $ 1, 405 million respectively. 

Cumulative apparel export earnings by exporting to other markets brought in US $434 million, up 2.84 percent YoY.