According to a Japan Textiles Exporters Association report on 2016 textile and apparel exports, based on Ministry of Finance trade statistics, the nation’s exports of textiles and apparel decreased by 3% compared to the previous year to US$7,613.98 million.
By item, textile fiber exports fell 36% to US$930.18 million with rayon, polyester and acrylic staple fibers sharply decreasing by 71%, 6% and 14% to US$167.20 million, US$60.59 million and US$522.46 million respectively.
Yarn exports remained about the same at US$1,000.09 million.
Exports of spun synthetic woven fabrics mainly for thobe applications increased by 6% to US$364.19 million, and those of knitted fabrics increased grew by 9% to US$655.53 million.
Exports of rayon filament fabrics remained about the same at US$178.71 million, and exports increased for polyester filament fabrics (up 5% to 569.72 million) and wool fabrics (up 2% to US$198.89 million).
By destination, exports to East Asia decreased by 2% to US$5,471.29 million, accounting for 72% of the total (up 1 percentage point). Of this, exports to China decreased by 5% to US$2,356.16 million. Meanwhile, exports to Vietnam grew by 12% to US$886.78 million, along with those to the EU by 4% to US$723.77 million.
Exports to Saudi Arabia and the U.K. posted sharp growths of 27% and 25% respectively.