São Paulo – Textile exports from Brazil were down 10.8% year-on-year in Q1, the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (Abit) reported this Tuesday (12). Export revenues reached US$ 345 million from January through March 2015, and US$ 387 million in the comparable period of 2014.
Conversely, Brazil’s imports of textiles and apparel increased, causing the industry to run a US$ 2.1 billion trade deficit. Imports reached US$ 2.48 billion, up 1.3% from US$ 2.44 billion in Q1 2014.
Output also dropped in Q1, by 6.7% for textiles and 13.9% for apparel. Employment level increased, with 4,012 job posts added, albeit at a slower pace than in Q1 2014, which had 15,110 new jobs.
Abit also reported that industry loans from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) reached R$ 1.24 billion, less than 2013’s R$ 1.89 billion. The textile and apparel industry’s share of the bank’s total disbursements was 1% in 2013 and 0.7% last year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
