Bangladesh, the largest jean supplier to the US, saw shipments dip 3.73 per cent for the 11 months through November to $522.78 million, on par with the previous month’s data from the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA).

Denim purchase was hit severely during the pandemic but steadied in November amid holiday push. Denim apparel imports till November declined 26.01 per cent to $2.57 billion compared to the same 11-month period in 2019. The decline was a slight development from the 27.42 per cent year-to-date decrease in October. While denim apparel imports from Mexico, the second largest producer, fell 43.6 per cent to $424.74 million. Vietnam lost some of its gains from prior two months, with a year-to-date increase of 0.68 per cent to $342.09 million in November. This trailed by 1.08 per cent and 1.77 per cent year-to-date increase in October and September, correspondingly. China continued to lose ground as a jeans production in the month. Till November, imports from China nosedived 53.75 per cent to $304.82 million. Chinese manufacturers have been dealing with the fallout of the pandemic much like the rest of the world, while also suffering from strategic sourcing shifts by importers looking to reduce risk and costs from tariffs derived from the trade war with the US

Among second-tier countries with a smaller market share, imports from Cambodia continued to strengthen, with a year-to-date gain of 13.62 per cent to $130.77 million. Pakistan flattened its decline to 3.25 per cent to $227.81 million in the period.