Waruni Jayathunga
Increased price competition in 2025 is expected to lead to subdued growth in apparel export revenue during the year despite the forecast increase in apparel exports, according to the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF).
JAAF Secretary General Yohan Lawrence stated that there was a massive pressure on prices due to the current market conditions, because apparel manufacturers were quoting low prices while buyers were demanding lower prices.
He stated that although they were expecting Sri Lanka’s annual apparel export volumes to surge in 2025 due to the increased competition for prices in the market, they were not expecting the volume growth to be reflected in the annual apparel export revenue figures.
“We are expecting growth in volume, but not as much in value because there is a lot of pressure on pricing,” Lawrence stated.
He further revealed that countries such as Bangladesh had more scale with regard to apparel manufacturing when compared to Sri Lanka, therefore enabling them to quote lower prices.
Lawrence explained that the priority for the industry this year was consolidation over expansion. He noted that it was too early to make any definitive assertions on whether the market conditions would improve within the year, pointing to the brewing tariff war between the US, Canada, and China, which he claimed could lead to high inflation and decreased consumer demand.
Responding to a query by The Sunday Morning Business on the forecast revenue target for the apparel sector in 2025, he stated that they were yet to finalise the revenue forecasts.
Additionally, he noted that Sri Lanka’s annual apparel export revenue had increased by around 5% Year-on-Year (YoY) compared to 2023, adding that the growth achieved was satisfactory considering the market circumstances and everything that had happened in 2024.
