Fabric imports by the south Asian island nation of Sri Lanka remained volatile during the first seven months of 2022.

The country’s fabric imports declined in March when the country faced economic problems, but it managed to control the damage quickly and imports rose again in the subsequent months indicating normal textile and apparel manufacturing.

Import declined in March from February 2022, but recovered in April. Sri Lankan inward shipment of the product again increased in May and June but dropped once again in July. Of the island country’s total textile imports in January 2022 to June 2022, fabric was the most important component, with a contribution of 81.18 per cent. Sri Lanka imported 39 per cent of fabric from China and 26 per cent from India. Taiwan, Pakistan and Hong Kong were among the top five suppliers.

The country’s imported yarn during the first half of 2022 accounted for 17per cent of total textile imports. Fiber imports were 0.85 per cent. In comparison, during the first six months of last year, out of Sri Lankan textile imports, fabric imports were 79 per cent, yarn 19 per cent and fiber 0.92 per cent.

Efforts are being made to attract key players in the fabric segment to invest in fabric mills in Sri Lanka.