Latest data from the US Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA), reveals Asian sourcing powerhouses Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia and India posted double-digit percentage gains for import of blue denim apparel to US in uptill November 2018.

The report revealed imports in the category– 95 per cent of which are jeans–from China increased 1.4 per cent in value to $871.97 million in the first 11 months of 2018. This keeps China in the top supplier slot, but leaves many countries quickly gaining ground.

In the same period, denim apparel imports from Vietnam jumped 44.53 per cent to $277.37 million, while Bangladesh’s shipments rose 12.34 per cent to $536.54 million. Imports from Pakistan gained 12.18 per cent to $227.6 million, Cambodia’s shipments increased by 23.65 per cent and imports from India rose by 45.58 per cent to $34.01 million. Imports from high-end supplier Japan were up 13.16 per cent for a value of $18.66 million.

While the mill’s European customers are still buying textiles from China, prices for packaging and manufacturing in China are getting too high for most, so House of Gold is looking outside of China for large-scale production in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Mauritius.