China and Nicaragua signed an FTA on August 31, 2023, which came into effect on January 1, 2024. It's worth noting that Nicaragua is not only a major textile and clothing market for the US but also a significant textile supplier to Nicaragua. China has been trying to make inroads into Nicaragua's market for years. Its FTA with Nicaragua could boost China's prospects.
Apparel exports from the US to Nicaragua were $161.981 million during January-October 2023. This was nearly half the exports of $300.239 million in 2022. It is evident that textile exports have declined to the Central American nation, mirroring the global trend. Nicaragua, being a neighbouring country, is one of the major markets for US textile and clothing, and it relies on the US for logistic convenience, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro.
The outbound shipment of apparel was recorded at $203.502 million in 2019. However, exports dipped to $146.482 million in the COVID-impacted year of 2020. Nevertheless, it rebounded to $259.338 million in 2021 and reached $300.239 million in 2022.
Nicaragua was the fourth-largest market for US apparel exports during January-September 2023. Although Nicaragua's share was as small as 2.98 per cent, equivalent to $133.194 million, compared to the US' total apparel exports of $4,483.710 million, it remains an important market as a neighbouring country of the US.
China's apparel exports to Nicaragua reached $30.330 million in January-October 2023, already surpassing the total shipment of $29.145 million in 2022. China's apparel exports amounted to $21.305 million in 2019, which dipped to $20.015 million in 2020. However, it rebounded to $27.796 million in 2021 and further increased to $29.145 million in 2022, as per TexPro.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)
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