It seems PPE has become a major import category of USA ever since COVID-19 has happened and, despite a number of domestic players diversifying into PPE manufacturing, the imports continue to surge.
In Jan. ’21, PPE imports of the country reached US $ 1.98 billion, noting a massive increase of 371.50 per cent on Y-o-Y basis, as per OTEXA.
Non-woven disposable apparels contributed US $ 235.16million under HS Code 6210105000 and grew over 300 per cent as compared to Jan. ’20 figures.
The import of face masks, clubbing 5 HS Codes 6307909845, 6307909850, 6307909870, 6307909875, 6307909891, valued US $ 462.80million in Jan. ’21.
Face masks constituted 23.40 per cent of the total import value of PPE by USA.
Another significant import was done by the USA for plastic/rubber gloves (a combination of 7 HS Codes – 3926201010, 3926201020, 4015110110, 4015110150, 4015190510, 4015190550, 4015191010) which valued US $ 1.21billion in the first month of 2021 which is a total of 61 per cent of over PPE import value.
It’s worth mentioning here that PPE imports of USA reached an all-time high US $ 20.37 billion during 2020 with a staggering surge of 320 per cent on Y-o-Y basis.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
