The USA imported brassieres worth US $ 1.80 billion during the January to October 2024 period, noting a 7.16 per cent year-over-year growth.
According to official data released by OTEXA, approximately 80 per cent of these imports – totaling US $ 1.44 billion – originated from five countries: China (US $ 472.25 million; up 11.20 per cent), Vietnam (US $ 451.16 million; up 9.39 per cent), Indonesia (US $ 221.41 million; up 6.55 per cent), Sri Lanka (US $ 205.09 million; up 18.71 per cent), and Bangladesh (US $ 91.77 million; down 0.23 per cent).
Notably, except for Bangladesh, all other countries increased their brassiere shipments to the USA in 2024 till October.
The data also highlights that Thailand is rapidly closing the gap with Bangladesh, with brassiere exports to the USA reaching US $ 78.49 million – a significant growth of 22.72 per cent. Meanwhile, Cambodia’s shipments grew impressively by 50 per cent to US $ 46.61 million.
India, however, saw a decline in its brassiere exports to the USA during the January to October 2024 period, down 12.50 per cent to US $ 23.71 million.
This data suggests that US brassiere buyers are refining their sourcing strategies by consolidating imports and focusing on a select group of countries within ASEAN (up 11.57 per cent), rather than diversifying across multiple countries, including those in trade blocs such as the EU (down 11.67 per cent), CAFTA-DR (down 14.54 per cent), Sub-Saharan Africa (down 11.86 per cent), USMCA (down 48.82 per cent), and the OECD (down 32.15 per cent).
