EU textile and apparel imports see a slight increase from January to May

In May, the EU's demand for textile and apparel imports weakened. The import volume in May decreased by 0.4% year-on-year, while the value increased by 0.4% year-on-year. However, imports from China saw a 9.7% decrease in volume and a 9.2% decrease in value year-on-year, indicating that the overall growth in the EU's import demand in May was significantly better than that from China. From January to May, the EU's total textile and apparel import volume still achieved a year-on-year growth of 2.7%, while the value decreased by 3.6% year-on-year.

After a long period of year-on-year negative growth, the EU's textile and apparel import volume increased from February to April this year, but turned negative again in May. Meanwhile, the year-on-year decline in imports from China was greater than the overall decline, indicating that the EU's demand for textiles and apparel from China was weaker than the overall demand. From January to May, the regions that performed better in the EU market were Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Pakistan. Although China also achieved some growth, the increase was significantly smaller than in these regions.

In terms of import volume, only Indonesia and India showed a decline among the major markets, while others saw varying degrees of growth. In terms of value, only Vietnam achieved a slight increase, while others saw declines, mainly due to the impact of unit prices. So, how did the market shares of these regions fare this year?

China still ranks first in the EU textile and apparel import market, with a share of around 30%, followed by Turkey, Bangladesh, and India, with the four accounting for about 65%. Compared to the same period last year, only India's market share showed a slight decline among the main sources, while other markets saw varying degrees of growth.

The fact that the EU's textile and apparel import data for May did not continue the year-on-year growth trend of February to April suggests that the foundation of the EU's import demand for textiles and apparel is not solid and is in a slow recovery process. Additionally, it is worth noting that the unstable international situation has affected international trade and orders to some extent, especially the recent situation in Bangladesh. The recent internet outage in Bangladesh will impact foreign trade processes, and apparel exports are a pillar industry for Bangladesh, holding an important position in global apparel exports, second only to China and ASEAN. Its largest export market is Europe, followed by the United States. The domestic situation in Bangladesh will inevitably affect import and export trade and shipments, including apparel. If this situation persists for a long time, it will impact the global apparel export market, though the short-term impact is limited.