Import of jeans by the United States from China declined by 10.44 per cent in the first six months of the year upto June to a value of $369.97 million. This brought China’s market share of the category down to 22.82 percent, a 5.11 percent decline for the year ended June 30. Levi Strauss & Co. has reduced its import of denims from China to less than 8 percent of overall production for Levi’s and plans to bring the number down to “very low-single-digits” by 2020.

The other top suppliers of denim jeans to the USA posted gains in their exports. These included Mexico, whose imports rose by 14.44 per cent to $410.07 million. This growth led the Western Hemisphere increase of 12.03 percent to $509.74 million, which also included a 28.02 percent gain by Nicaragua to $55.19 million, and a 12.06 percent advance by Guatemala to $16.22 million.

Jeans imports from Vietnam increased by 29.36 percent to a value of $142.36 million. The country’s market share rose by 36.39 percent to 8.38 percent for the 12 months, as makers look to capitalise on its apparel manufacturing expertise. The imports from Pakistan rose by 15.49 percent to $119.72 million. The country’s market share increased 16.27 percent to 6.69 percent.