According to apparel import figures, as compiled by The Japan Textiles Importers Association on the basis of Japanese Ministry of Finance trade statistics, March 2020 imports decreased by 4.4% compared to the same month of last year to 246,469 million yen, and the import volume including accessories declined by 2.4% to 82,020 tons.
Compared to February 2020 imports, which decreased by nearly 40% from the year before, March imports showed a remarkable recovery.
Imports from China decreased by 6.3% in tonnage and 9.4% in value to 45,638 tons worth 129,068 million yen. The shares of China in total imports decreased to about 30% in terms of tonnage and value in February, but surpassed 50% in March (i.e., 55.6% in tons and 52.4% in value).
March apparel imports from ASEAN grew by 4.9% and 6.4% respectively to 26,329 tons (share: 32.1%) valued at 82,962 million yen (share: 33.7%).
Imports from Vietnam (the second largest supplier) sharply increased by 12.0% and 14.7% respectively to 12,201 tons (share: 14.9%) worth 41,040 million yen (share: 16.7%).
Imports from Bangladesh (the third largest supplier) decreased by 1.1% and 6.4% respectively to 6,688 tons (share: 8.2%) valued at 13,287 million yen (share: 5.4%).
Imports from Turkey, which came in tenth place, showed double-digit growths both in tonnage and value: 260 tons (up 13.5%, 0.3% share) and 1,405 million yen (up 14.7%, 0.6% share).
