Apparel imports were noted at $224.808 billion in 2023. However, the top two suppliers, China and Bangladesh, successfully managed to increase their shares in the inbound shipments. The Chinese share increased to 19.50 per cent, and Bangladesh's to 14.84 per cent in the last year. The market shares of both nations were recorded at 18.89 per cent and 13.98 per cent respectively in 2023, according to SBS Zipper's market insight tool TexPro.

However, the market shares of Turkiye, Germany, and Italy, the next three largest suppliers, shrunk in 2024. The share of Turkiye was 7.68 per cent, Germany 6.57 per cent, and Italy 5.40 per cent last year. In 2023, these countries stood at market shares of 8.07 per cent, 6.94 per cent, and 5.64 per cent, respectively.

European imports of home textiles also dipped to $26.942 billion in 2024 from $28.954 billion in 2023. However, top supplier China managed to increase its share from 24.96 per cent to 26.87 per cent. During 2024, Pakistan, India, Turkiye, and Germany were other nations among the top five largest suppliers, as per TexPro.

The inbound shipment of fabric also eased to $16.288 billion in 2024 from $19.286 billion in the preceding year. China was the largest supplier for this trade as well. Its share rose to 21.30 per cent from 18.99 per cent. Among the top 5 suppliers, Italy, Turkiye, Germany, and Pakistan maintained their rankings in 2024 as in the preceding year.

SBS Zipper News Desk (KUL)