Table:
|  | Fiscal Year 2019 |  | Fiscal Year 2018 |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | Net Sales | % of Total | Net Sales | % of Total |
| APAC | $533,340 | 38.6% | $479,987 | 40.0% |
| EMEA | 315,535 | 22.8% | 277,898 | 23.1% |
| Americas | 337,842 | 24.4% | 259,105 | 21.6% |
| JPKO | 196,101 | 14.2% | 183,191 | 15.3% |
| Total | $1,382,818 |  | $1,200,181 |  |
Paragraphs:
Consolidated Comparison of Fiscal Year 2019 to Fiscal Year 2018
Net Sales
Net sales of $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2019 increased 15.2% from $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2018 primarily due to an increased in Solid Capacitor net sales $164.6 million. In addition, Film and Electrolytic net sales increased by $4.3 million, and MSA net sales increased by $13.8 million.
The increase in Solid Capacitors net sales was primarily driven by a $111.8 million increase in distributor sales across the Americas, APAC, and EMEA regions. The $111.8 million increase consisted of a $72.8 million increase in Ceramic product line sales and a $39.0 million increase in Tantalum product line sales. Also contributing to the increase in net sales was a $30.6 million increase in OEM sales across the APAC, EMEA, and JPKO regions, and a $28.0 million increase in EMS sales across all regions. These increases in net sales were partially offset by a $3.2 million decrease in distributor sales in the JPKO region and a $2.7 million decrease in OEM sales in the Americas region. In addition, Solid Capacitors net sales was unfavorably impacted by $0.5 million from foreign currency exchange due to the change in the value of the Euro compared to the U.S. dollar.
The increase in Film and Electrolytic net sales was primarily driven by a $10.5 million increase in distributor sales across the Americas and EMEA regions. Also contributing to the increase in net sales was $1.7 million increase in EMS sales in the Americas region and a $0.8 million increase in OEM sales in the JPKO region. These increases in net sales were partially offset by a $5.6 million decrease in OEM sales across the APAC and EMEA regions and a $3.1 million decrease in distributor sales across the APAC and JPKO regions. In addition, there was an unfavorable impact of $0.1 million from foreign currency exchange primarily due to the change in the value of the Euro compared to the U.S. dollar.
The increase in MSA net sales was primarily driven by a $15.0 million increase in OEM sales in the JPKO region. Also contributing to the increase in net sales was a $4.3 million increase in EMS sales across all regions and a $3.7 million increase in distributor sales across the Americas and EMEA regions. These increase in net sales were partially offset by a $5.5 million decrease in distributor sales across the APAC and JPKO regions and a $3.8 million decrease in OEM sales across the Americas, APAC, and JPKO regions.
In fiscal years 2019 and 2018, net sales by channel and the percentages of net sales by region to total net sales were as follows (dollars in thousands):
Question:
What was the main reason for net sales increase between 2018 and 2019?
Answer: primarily due to an increased in Solid Capacitor net sales $164.6 million