As per Office of Textiles and Apparels stats, US import of denim apparels declined nearly 25 per cent to $2.8 billion in 2020 compared to $3.73 billion the previous year, as the pandemic severely curbed demand. Suppliers who showed resilienc despite COVID and benefitted from the general flight from China included Bangladesh, whose shipments to the US declined by 3.98 percent to $561.3 million and a 20 percent market share. The same was true of Vietnam, whose imports to the US declined 1.08 per cent to $368.19 million. Imports from Pakistan declined 2.8 percent o $251.41 million. Only Cambodia’s imports increased 13.41 per cent to $143 million.

The only other Top 10 supplier that showed strength was Lesotho, with its shipments dipping 1.79 percent to $56.39 million. Other African countries that continued to demonstrate potential as a denim sourcing alternative were Madagascar, with imports increasing by 10.99 percent to $34.4 million; Ethiopia, gaining 21.37 percent to $22.99 million, and Tanzania, with a 5.48 percent increase to $13.85 million.