Sri Lanka's fabric imports from China drop 30.13% in Jan-Sept 2023

Sri Lanka imported fabric from China worth $487.687 million during the first three quarters of the current year. China remained the top fabric supplier, contributing 37.28 per cent to the total fabric imports of the island country. However, Sri Lanka's fabric import from China decreased by 30.13 per cent in the period under review, indicating a slowdown in garment demand from the Western world. 

During a meeting in Colombo between Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chinese State Councillor Shen Yiqin, China and Sri Lanka pledged to deepen cooperation and friendship. In the textile trade, although both nations compete in the global garment market, Sri Lanka largely depends on imported fabric supplies for its garment industry, with China and India being the most prominent suppliers. 

Sri Lankan fabric imports from China fell by 30.13 per cent to $487.687 million during January-September 2023, compared to the $697.955 million imported in the corresponding period last year. Annually, Sri Lanka's fabric import from China was nearly steady at $883.337 million in 2022, against $897.101 million in 2021. Previously, the country imported fabric worth $720.823 million in 2020 and $944.202 million in 2019, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro. 

In the current year, Sri Lanka's fabric demand has drastically reduced due to limited garment buying by Western fashion brands and retailers. Its total fabric import declined by 27.45 per cent to $1.308 billion during the first three quarters of this year, compared to $1.803 billion in the same period last year. The country’s total fabric import was $2.292 billion in 2022, as per TexPro. 

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)