Lesotho tops the African list of clothing exporters to the United States of America, US government statistics released in Maseru show.

The US Embassy in Maseru released the statistics, showing that Lesotho is a major beneficiary of the US's Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA).

It ranks among the largest exporters in Africa to the United States, and is Africa's eighth largest exporter to the United States.

"Total exports from Lesotho to the United States grew from US322-million in 2002 to over US393-million in 2003, a 22 percent increase. The growth is continuing, with first quarter of 2004 exports totalling US101-million, compared to US83-million in the first three months of 2003."

Total trade, including exports and imports between the US and sub-Saharan Africa increased 27% in the first quarter of 2004 over the same period in 2003, as both exports and imports continued their upward climb.

"US exports rose 41% to US2-billion, driven by increased sales of parts for oil field equipment, wheat, aircraft, vehicles, and telecommunications equipment. US imports in the first quarter of 2004 increased by 24% to US7.6-billion, compared to the same period in 2003." AGOA continues to foster economic development.

US imports under AGOA in the first quarter of 2004 were US5.3-billion, 54% more than in the first quarter of 2003.

"Contributing to this increase was an additional US833.5-million in imports from Angola, which only received AGOA benefits at the beginning of the year. While petroleum products continued to capture the largest portion of AGOA imports, non-energy AGOA imports grew by 15%. AGOA textile and apparel imports have increased by 45% to US360.7," the statement read.

Latest AGOA Trade Data on AGOA.info


Click here to view a sector profile of Lesotho’s bilateral trade with the United States, disaggregated by total exports and imports, AGOA exports and GSP exports.

Other regularly updated trade statistics on AGOA.info include: