Ecuador's Textile Turnover Falls 36% In 2020

Industry news

Ecuador's Textile Turnover Falls 36% In 2020

According to Ecuador's Internal Revenue Service (SRI), turnover of textile industry decreased by 36% US$ 1.38 billion in 2019 to US$ 885 million in 2020. According to Javier Diaz, President, Association of Textile Industries of Ecuador, the sector reported losses of US$ 500 million during the past year. Meanwhile, employment in the sector has dropped 29% and 20% for textiles and manufacturing, respectively. Data from the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) indicates that the country went from exporting 26,000 tons of textiles valued at about US$ 103.8 million in 2019 to 28,400 tons at US$ 104.4 million. This represents an increase of 9% in volume and 1% in revenue. According to AITE, higher demand for abaca fibre (usually employed for manufacturing textiles and paper) and special products like face masks can explain the slight increase in exports. However, exports in clothing declined from US$ 25 million in 2019 to US$ 18 million in 2020.