EU: Garment imports down 2.3% in first seven months

Trade & Policy

EU: Garment imports down 2.3% in first seven months

Garment imports into the European Union (EU) in the first seven months of 2013 totalled EUR 35 billion (US$ 48 billion), down 2.3% in the same period last year, according to the latest data from Eurostat. Major Asian suppliers, such as China and India, continue to see their sales diminish in contrast to Bangladesh, Pakistan and, in particular, Cambodia. While China remained by far the major country of origin for imports, sales were down 8.4% to EUR 13.2 billion. Indian shipments into the EU fell 0.9%.

Ranked second as country of origin for EU garment imports was Bangladesh, whose sales rose 6.3% to EUR 5.2 billion followed closely by Turkey (+3.9%). Pakistan and Cambodia, achieved sales growth of 9.8% and 25.5% respectively, but imports from Vietnam were flat (-0.5%). North African suppliers experienced contrasting fortunes with the countries of the 'Arab Revolution’, Tunisia and Egypt, showing a decline in sales of 5.3% and 4.3% respectively. But Morocco posted growth of 6.9%.