Sri Lanka’s apparel sector has surpassed the $3 billion mark in earnings, demonstrating impressive growth with a 22% year-on-year increase in August. According to provisional data released by Sri Lanka Customs, the sector’s export earnings for August reached $485.62 million.
Exports to all markets have shown positive growth, with the United States seeing a notable increase of 22.9% YoY, totaling $209.4 million. Exports to the European Union grew by 18.84% YoY, reaching $140.51 million, while the United Kingdom and other markets reported increases of 17.74% and 30.91% YoY, respectively, amounting to $62.39 million and $73.32 million.
For the first eight months of the year, the apparel sector generated $3.158 billion in revenue, reflecting a 2.41% increase YoY. Notably, all markets except the European Union experienced positive growth, with exports to the United States, United Kingdom, and other markets rising by 1.82%, 8.49%, and 5.36% YoY, respectively. In contrast, exports to the European Union saw a slight decline of 1.16% YoY, totaling $914 million.