In H1 '21, falling woven garment demand affects Japanese imports

In the first half of 2021, Japan's clothing imports decreased in value but climbed modestly in weight...

The country imported clothes worth 1,186.16 billion yen (US $ 10.76 billion) from January to June of this year, compared to 1,192.03 billion yen (US $ 10.81 billion) in the same time of last year, representing a 0.49 percent annual decrease.

In terms of weight, Japanese clothing imports increased by almost 2% to 2,911.54 million kg in the given period, compared to 2,855.13 million kg in the same time in 2020.

Knitted clothes accounted for 603.10 billion JPY (US $ 5.47 billion) of total imports, while woven garments accounted for 583.05 billion yen (US $ 5.29 billion).

Woven apparel imports have continued to fall in value, falling by 7.22 percent, while weight-wise shipping decreased by 4.81 percent.

Knitted apparel imports, on the other hand, have seen exactly the opposite effects, with import values increasing by 7% and weight-wise shipping increasing by 4.36 percent year on year.