June apparel exports earnings down 25.16% YoY

Dampened performance in the apparel sector continued to the month of June as export earnings contracted by a staggering 25.16 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) due to persisting slowdown in demand from key buying markets.
Data compiled by industry body Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) showed that in June, export earnings from apparel totalled US$ 401.63 million.

Although a negative growth is seen when compared with the corresponding month in 2022, when compared with May 2023, export earnings have expanded by 4.8 percent.
Break down of the data show that exports to all key markets continue to dip. Apparel exports to the US in June contracted by 33.20 percent to US$ 154.56 million.
Apparel exports to the EU and the UK, dropped by 16.13 percent and 16.64 percent to US$ 132. 92 million, and US$ 57.95 million, while exports to other markets contracted by 27.27 percent to US$ 56.20 million.

Accordingly, the cumulative exports for the January - June 2023 period totalled US$ 2.28 billion, which is 18.14 percent decrease from the US$ 2.79 billion achieved in the same period in 2022.
Analysis shows that for the first half of 2023 (1H23), exports to the US decreased by 27.28 percent YoY to US$ 901.01 million. Exports to the EU dropped by 14.70 percent to US$ 690.07 million, and to the UK by 15.40 percent YoY to US$ 321.74. Cumulative exports to other markets for 1H23 too contracted, by 7.98 percent YoY to US$ 372.94 million.