How about EU and US textile and apparel imports in Apr?

Both EU and US textile and apparel imports volume from China rose year-on-year in Apr

The latest data showed that EU and US textile and apparel imports from China reached 252kt and 2.42 billion square meters in Apr, up by 13.7% and 64% year-on-year but down 21.6% and 12.8% month-on-month respectively. The imports of them both rose by 5.2% and 12.2% compared with that in same period of 2019, indicating that the imports volume have recovered to pre-Covid level (i.e., January to April 2019).

EU textile and apparel imports value in Apr reduced but that of US textile and apparel surged year-on-year

In terms of value, US textile and apparel imports value in Apr moved up sharply year-on-year but declined month-on-month and was lower than that in 2019 two years ago, especially the value from China dropped by 24.5% year-on-year, reflecting declines in the average prices of imports from China.

The value of EU’s textile and apparel (T&A) production totaled EUR2.05 bn in Apr 2021, down 63.5% year-on-year and 30% month-on-month respectively, and it moved up by 13.4% compared with that in same period of 2019. In Jan-Apr, the cumulative US textile and apparel imports value was EUR10.83 bn, down 17.6% year-on-year, but it rose by 8.2% compared with that in same period of 2019, indicating that the imports value have recovered to pre-Covid level. However, compared with the same period last year, the value decreased significantly, not least because China's masks contributed a lot to the production of epidemic prevention products last year, but with the pandemic situation in Europe waned, it dropped evidently this year.

Proportion of EU and US textile and apparel imports source (in volume)

China remained by far the USA's biggest textile and apparel supplier, but its share of total US textile and apparel imports declined in value and volume terms. Meanwhile, Bangladesh, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico and Vietnam all increased their shares of US textile and apparel imports in volume terms.

Which origins are rising while China's share of total US textile and apparel imports is falling?

It could be seen that ASEAN was the second biggest US textile and apparel supplier, and Vietnam accounted for the largest proportion. The third was India. Since May last year, India rapidly rose its shares of US textile and apparel imports and it has recovered to 12.4%, close to the peak in 2018. The share of the imports from Pakistan, Mexico and Bangladesh was relatively stable. Therefore, India and ASEAN markets are China's main competitors in the U.S. market this year. Since late-April, the COVID situation in India has broken out again. The serious epidemic situation has caused the decline of domestic production capacity, slow logistics speed, loss of workers and other problems affecting exports, so India's textile and apparel exports may be impacted in May, and some orders may reduce. With the alleviation of the epidemic situation in India and the gradual lifting of lockdown in June, the demand will gradually recover, but the market environment is far from stable yet as the COVID situation in India continues to evolve and the number of new confirmed cases in India is still high.

The EU textile and apparel industry is not immune to COVID-19. According to the European Apparel and Textile Federation (Euratex), the EU textile and apparel production fell 9.3% and 17.7% respectively in 2020 from a year ago. China, Turkey, India and Bangladesh served as the dominant T&A sourcing base for EU fashion brands and retailers. China’s share accounted for about one third, Turkey for about 12-13%, Bangladesh had a rapid growth in recent years, accounting for about 10%, India for about 8-9%, and other markets were relatively small. Last year, China, Turkey, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Indonesia accounted for 74% of the total import. 

To sum up, in the process of gradual recovery of EU 27 members' demand for textiles and apparel, the total import volume in Mar increased by 9.7% compared with that in 2019, and the import value rose by 2.2% compared with that in the same period in 2019, while the demand in Jan-Feb was in a state of contraction compared with that in the same period in 2019. Therefore, its demand for textiles and apparel gradually recovered and that in Mar has recovered to   the pre-Covid level. From the perspective of the share of EU textile and apparel imports source, the competition was becoming fiercer. Turkey, Bangladesh and India were all major competitors. At present, due to the pandemic, productivity of both Bangladesh and India is affected to a certain extent. China took good prevention and control measures and maintained a strong production capacity, so China still has a strong advantage. However, with the easing epidemic situation and overseas cost advantages coupled with trade friction, it is expected that China will still face greater pressure in the EU textile and garment import market in the future. 

2021 hopefully will be a year of recovery and growth for the EU textile and apparel industry. According to Euratex, the EU Business Confidence indicator of March 2021 gained momentum, with a confirmed upward trend in the textile industry and a modest recovery in the clothing industry. However, Euratex also noted that EU textile and apparel companies still face daunting challenges and uncertainties in 2021, ranging from the rising feedstock price, increasing transportation cost, to political instability in some key sourcing destinations (such as China and Myanmar).