Usa: sunglass international trade declines

According to Vca's Iota (International Optical Trade Analysis) report of the foreign trade statistics from the US Department of Commerce, in the third quarter this year the sunglass import volume was flat, increasing just 0.1 percent.

Imports started off with a strong 12.4 percent expansion in the first quarter followed by a fairly stable 2.9 percent growth in the second quarter. US sunglass import value recorded a 3.0 percent increase, following acceleration rates of 24.5 percent and 10.3 percent in the first and second quarter respectively.

US sunglass exports likewise continued to weaken. Following last year's strong market performance for foreign sunglasses in the US, the market appears to have eased this year. As of the third quarter of this year, US sunglass export volume is less than half of the previous year's volume. The same period in 2002 recorded a staggering 49.5 percent increase. Average price of exported sunglasses posted a sharp increase of 85 percent. This substantial price increase, however, was not strong enough to push the export value. Sunglass export value dropped 8 percent at the end of the third quarter.