The apparel industry is heading towards becoming the key driver of economy and is set to surpass the target revenue mark for this year. The progress made by the industry so far is encouraging, Secretary General Joint Apparel Association Forum, Tuli Cooray said.“The first half recorded the highest earnings for the industry within the last five years surpassing the earnings of US $ 2,413 million in 2016. With a dip in earnings of US $ 2,281 million in 2017, it recorded $ 2,395 million for 2018 and $ 2,620 million for 2019. Total export earnings recorded a 9.41 percent growth compared to 3 percent growth the previous year. This is the highest growth rate for any export sector in the country,” he said.