According to the trade data from Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro, Sri Lankan apparel exports to Italy have been increasing consistently after 2020, when they saw a dip due to the pandemic. The outbound shipment surged by 21 per cent to reach $436.742 million in 2021. It further gained 17.15 per cent to $511.629 million in 2022 and rose by 10.05 per cent to $563.071 million in 2023.
Italy accounted for 12.96 per cent of Sri Lanka's total apparel exports of $4.344 billion in 2023. The island country exported 41.09 per cent to the US, which was its top apparel buyer in the world.
Before the pandemic, Sri Lanka had exported apparel worth $461.836 million to Italy in 2018. However, this figure dropped by 9.79 per cent to $416.624 million in 2019 and further declined by 13.37 per cent to $360.938 million in 2020.
In January 2024, Italy ranked as the second-largest European destination for Sri Lankan apparel, purchasing $39.299 million worth of goods, representing 11.23 per cent of Sri Lanka's total exports ($349.956 million). Meanwhile, the United Kingdom stood as the top European buyer, claiming 14.66 per cent of the exports. Globally, the US remained the largest buyer, absorbing 37.43 per cent of Sri Lanka's apparel exports during the same period, as per TexPro.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)
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