Global pandemic has made a significant dent in the apparel retail industry, forcing the mass closures of retail stores and Japan is not an exception. As a result, during Jan.-Apr ’20 periods, Japan imported 903.5 billion yen (US $ 8.41 billion) of garments, marking 9.60 per cent downfall on a yearly basis.
According to the data released by Ministry of Finance, Japan, the country was also down by 8.80 per cent in weight to import 2,076 million kg worth of garments from the world over. It’s worth putting here that Japan kicked off 2020 with a rise in import value and volume but it continuously fell after that. All major exporting countries plunged in the review period in their respective exports to Japan, except for Vietnam which saw growth both in quantity and value.
Vietnamese apparel shipment to Japan valued at 149.29 billion yen (US $ 1.39 billion), marking a surge of 4.81 per cent on Y-o-Y basis. Weight-wise also, the country noted 1.95 per cent growth. The UVR of Vietnamese shipment was also up by 1.72 per cent in Jan.-Apr. 2020 period.
China exported 486.05 billion yen (US $ 4.53 billion) of garments to Japan in the first 4 months of 2020, noting a drop of 14.43 per cent, while weight reduced by 12.08 per cent to 1,358.33 million kg from a year earlier.
India too lost substantial share in its respective apparel exports to Japan. The country’s export valued at 11.71 billion yen (US $ 110 million) which was 21.58 per cent down from what it had exported the same period of the prior year; also, the weight of the shipment reduced by 17.56 per cent.
Bangladesh too dwindled in its exports to Japan but not as much as China or India. The shipment from Bangladesh valued at 46.59 billion yen (US $ 434 million), noting 3.04 per cent fall on Y-o-Y basis. On the other hand, weight of the apparel shipment decreased by 4.52 per cent.
