The European Union imported garments totaling US $43.60 billion in the first six months of 2023, as against $48.03 billion between January and June 2022, a decline of 9.22 percent.
“In terms of quantity, EU’s clothing import fell sharply by 16.34 percent in the reporting period to 1.76 billion kgs from 2.10 billion kgs in the same months of 2022,” EUROSTAT, EU’s statistical data agency informed.
EU’s import from its top sourcing country China dropped 13.52 percent year on year to $10.54 billion between January and June 2023.
Quantity-wise, clothing imports from China descended 15.45 percent to 426.63 million kgs in the period under review from 504.57 million kgs in the comparable months of 2022.
Imports from Bangladesh, the second largest source, fell 13.65 percent from a year ago period to $9.78 billion in the first six months of the current year.
Quantity-wise, garment shipments from Bangladesh also reduced by 17.59 percent during the aforementioned period, to 547.68 million kg from 664.60 million kg.
During the first six months of 2023, the EU’s imports from Turkey, the third largest apparel source, went down by 11.12 percent in value terms and 22.89 percent in quantity from a year ago period.
In the reporting period, the EU’s imports from India and Vietnam fell by 6.49 and 2.54 percent, respectively in value terms, while in terms of quantity, they decreased by 14.07 percent and 10.74 percent, respectively.
EU’s imports from other countries also declined in value terms like Cambodia by 10.14 percent, Pakistan by 11.04 percent, Morocco by 12.99 percent, Sri Lanka by 18.48 percent, and Indonesia by 17.45 percent.
When looking at the unit price, the EU’s cumulative unit price of imports from the world has increased by 8.52 percent year on year in January-June 2023.
This increase in unit price does not necessarily mean that the prices for the same goods have gone up, but have increased due to inflation and also imports of higher-value garment products.
EU apparel imports drop 9.22% between January & June 2023
