Textile and clothing exports from EU countries to countries outside the EU rose in value by 5.8% to Euro52.88 bn (US$59.19 bn) in 2019, and in volume they rose by 4.8% to 5.67 mn tons. Within these totals, exports of textiles rose by 2.1% in value and 4.9% in volume while exports of clothing rose by 9.1% in value and 3.4% in volume. However, production of textiles fell for the second consecutive year while production of clothing declined for the third consecutive year to its lowest level in several years. Within the EU, the largest exporter of textiles to countries outside the EU in value terms was Germany, followed closely by Italy. In clothing, the largest exporter was Italy, followed at some distance by Germany, Spain and France. The largest geographical market outside the EU for EU textile exporters was the USA, followed by China, Turkey and Morocco. The largest geographical market for EU clothing exporters was Switzerland, followed by the USA, Russia and Hong Kong. Imports of textiles and clothing into the EU from countries outside the EU increased in value by 3.7% to Euro119.20 bn in 2019. In volume terms, however, imports edged down by 0.9% to 12.56 mn tons. Within these totals, imports of textiles rose by 2.0% in value but fell by 0.5% in volume while imports of clothing rose by 4.3% in value but fell by 1.4% in volume. The average price of EU textile imports, meanwhile, rose by 2.6% while the average price of EU clothing imports rose by 5.7%. Within the EU, the largest importer of textiles from outside the EU in value terms was Germany, followed by Italy. Germany was also the largest importer of clothing, followed by the UK. The biggest source of EU textile imports was China, followed by Turkey, India and Pakistan, while the biggest source of EU clothing imports was China, followed by Bangladesh and Turkey. The 0.9% decline in EU textile and clothing imports in volume terms reflected a 3.7% fall in EU consumer expenditure on clothing and footwear. Furthermore, such expenditure is forecast to decline by 8.1% in 2020 to its lowest level in several years—reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic—and it is not expected to recover to the level seen in 2018 before 2023 at the earliest. Meanwhile, private consumption in the EU is set to decline by 8.6% in 2020 and it is not expected to reach the level seen in 2019 before 2022. Consequently, imports are likely to decline sharply in 2020 although there is expected to be a surge in imports of face masks alone. Furthermore, it is uncertain by how much EU textile and clothing imports will rebound in 2021 as buyers are likely to remain tentative and retailers may offload stock they already have in warehouses. © Textiles Intelligence Limited 2020.
