Garment exports down 3% in 1st half

Garments and textiles exports from January to June this year amounted to $1.35 billion, down by a slower three percent from $1.39 billion recorded in the same period last year.

With the slower decline in garments and textile exports, GTEB Executive Director Serafin Jullano is optimistic that the industry will be able to post a zero growth this year instead of a negative growth.

Jullano is predicting that in the second half of the year, garments and textile exports will recover even more as most of the exports will be autumn and winter clothes which normally cost more.

Thus, Jullano explained, the recovery would be more in terms of value rather than an increase in unit sales.

Garments and textiles exports for the first half of the year to quota countries amounted to $1.191 billion down by 2.98 percent when compared to the exports posted from January to June last year of $1.228 billion.

Garments and textile exports to quota countries account for 88 percent of the country’s total garments and textile exports.

Exports to non-quota countries amounted to $156.9 million, registering a decline of 3.85 percent compared to the $163.2 million in exports posted from January to June 2003.

The decline in garments and textile exports even to non-quota countries which include Japan was due to the slow recovery of the Japanese economy. Japan accounts for 28 percent of the country’s total shipments to non-quota countries. Despite the drop in the Japanese demand, Jullano said there is a strong growth in exports to the European market of 28.22 percent, amounting to $224 million and which now accounts for 16.65 percent of total garments exports of the country.

For the first half of last year, garments and textiles exports to the European markets amounted to only $175 million, accounting for only 12.58 percent of total shipments.

The increase in exports to Europe is a move away from the traditional US market.

Garments and textiles exports to the US from January to June this year amounted to $932.7 million, a six-percent drop of 8.41 percent.

The US market accounts for 69.17 percent the country’s total garment shipments.

Exports to Canada, which is also a quota country, showed a slight decline of 1.03 percent with total exports amounting to $34.243 million compared to the $34.6 million exports posted in the first half of 2003.