Asia and Oceania are important markets for clothing to the UK and dispatches from this continent holds the highest value among the UK’s import partners. In the first eight months of the current year, UK imports of clothing totaled US $14.27 billion, down 13.5 percent over the comparable months of earlier year.
China touched $3.3 billion, a year-on-year decline of 20.5, and accounted for 23.1 percent of overall garment imports, down 2 percentage points over the same months of 2022. Imports from Bangladesh stood at $2.76 billion, dropping by 3.9 percent over a year ago period, and accounted for 19.3 percent of overall shipments, but which grew 1.9 percentage points. Shipments from Turkey were $1.22 billion, a year-over-year plunge of 21.2 percent, and accounted for 8.6 percent of all apparel imports, also down 0.8 percentage points.
UK retail sales of textile, clothing, and footwear totaled £41.66 billion in the months between January and September 2023, increasing by 8.3 percent over the first nine months of 2022. In September alone textile, garment, and footwear retail sales in the UK amounted to £5.25 billion pounds, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%.
