Newsletter: June 2002

Textile Export Performance 

South Korea : Textile Export Slows In April 

South Korea's textile and clothing exports fell 4.5% in April to $1.313 billion, but the rate of decline was the slowest this year. The year-on-year drop in March was 16.3%  and in February, 24.5%. This improvement reflects recovery in the global economy and a rise in the price of chemical fibres.

Textile exports to the US, which accounts for 20% of the country's textile exports, fell 1.5% in April. South Korean expects textile exports to reach $16.5 billion in 2002, up 3.2%  on last year.

Taiwan : April Textile Exports Plunge 9%  

Taiwanese exports of textile goods by value plunged 8.9% to $1.08 billion in April from $1.19bn in the year-ago period. The statistics revealed yarn and fabric exports fell 9% to $828m in April, with garment exports slumping 18% to $97.6m from 2001.

Those falls contributed to a 13.4%  year-on-year slide to $4.17bn in textile exports for the first four months of 2002. Garment exports fell 20.3%  in the period and yarn and fabric exports 14.4%.  

India : Garment Exports Drop 11.4 %

Textile exports from India fell by 10.2% between April 2001 and February 2002. During this period, the value of Indian exports was $9.81 billion, compared to $10.9 billion last year.

Exports of ready-made garments dropped 11.4% to $2.7 billion, while cotton textiles were down 10.5%  to $4.5 billion. Traditional textile products such as handicrafts were hardest hit, declining 15.9% to $979 million.

Slovakia : Clothing Sales Drop As Overseas Orders Fall

Companies within the Slovak Textile and Clothing Industry Association (ATOP) reported a 1% drop in sales revenue in the first quarter of 2002 to 2.768 billion Slovak crowns compared to the same period last year. The decline was attributed decline to slower overseas orders - particularly from the US. 

Thailand : Garment Chiefs Confident Despite Export Plunge

Thai trade chiefs said they were not concerned at a 12.6% year-on-year plunge in first quarter garment exports to $1.1 billion as they are confident the market will recover during 2002.

Deputy Commerce Minister, Suvarn Valaisathien, said that the "rebound" of the global economy should boost the garment and textile industry which saw a 5.7% drop in exports last year to $5.3bn compared to the year-ago period.

Philippines : Garment & Textile Exports Drop 18%  

In the first four months of this year Philippine garment and textile exports have dropped by 18% to $805.99 m. from $982.91 million in the same period last year

Exports were pulled down by a 23% decline in the US market where imports fell from $749.25 million last year to  $577.70 million in the first quarter. Exports to Canada were down 12.71% to $16.87 million, and exports to the European Union fell by 5.9 % to $95.22 million. Exports to non-quota countries, however, were up slightly at 2.7 % to $116.19 million.

Vietnam :  Quota Shortages Hit Industry     

Vietnam earned $608m from garment and textile exports in the January-April period - up 5.4% from 2001. EU was its biggest customer as it bought textiles worth $160m. It was followed by Japan ($152m), the US ($82m) and Taiwan ($65m). However, exports to two of Vietnam's key overseas markets, Japan and Taiwan, fell sharply in the first four months of 2002. Apparel and fibre exports to Japan fell 20% to $38 million compared to 2001, while orders to Taiwan contracted 24%.

According to officials, by 22 February around 62.9% of the quota for T-shirts and polo shirts had been filled, while for trousers it is as high as 73.5%. By mid-March the shipment of shirts had also reached around half the volume allowed to the market.

 Textile Export Performance 

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