Textile and garment exports up 5.7% to US $ 5.3bn in 2018

Sri Lanka’s textile and garment exports rose 5.7 percent year-on-year (YoY) to little over US $ 5.3 billion, the external sector data released by the Central 
Bank showed.

In the month of December 2018, textile and garment exports rose 5 percent YoY to US $ 493.4 million.

The Central Bank said higher demand from the United States and the European Union (EU) supported the increase in apparel export earnings.

Sri Lanka enjoys duty-free access to the EU market under GSP Plus concessions. 

Garment exports alone rose 4.7 percent YoY to US$ 4.96 billion. 

However, according to the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF)—the apparel sector industry association figures, apparel exports topped the US $ 5 billion mark to US $ 5.05 billion. 

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka imported US $ 2.85 billion worth of textiles and textile articles in 2018, an increase of 4.9 percent YoY.