Ecuador’s textile industry turnover decreased by 36% from $1.38 billion in 2019 to $885 billion in 2020, according to Ecuador’s Internal Revenue Service (SRI).
According to Javier Diaz, President of the Ecuadorian Association of Textile Industries, the industry lost $500 million last year.
Meanwhile, employment in the textiles and manufacturing sectors has decreased by 29% and 20%, respectively.
According to data from Ecuador’s Central Bank (BCE), the country went from exporting 26,000 tonne of textiles worth $103.8 million in 2019 to 28,400 tonne worth $104.4 million in 2019. This reflects a 9 percent rise in volume and a 1% increase in revenue.
Higher demand for abacáfibre (used to make textiles and paper) and specialty items such as face masks, according to AITE, may explain the slight rise.
