“Last year, we witnessed a strong surge in [European] apparel imports in terms of value and volume, with product unit value increasing by 18.1%,” said Gildas Minvielle, director of the IFM’s Economic Observatory. “In 2023, the same no longer applies, as unit value has risen by only 2.6% in the January-September period,” he added.This trend is due to a 14% downturn of apparel imports in value, and a 16% one in volume, in the first nine months of the year. In 2023 as a whole, apparel imports are set to fall by 13% in volume compared to pre-pandemic figures, four years agoคำพูดจาก สล็อตเว็บตรง. While inflation is causing an illusory rise in imports value, which is set to increase by 4%.

“The market is weak in 2023, and distributors who greatly increased their imports last year probably have excess inventory. As a result, imports are declining, a phenomenon that has become more marked in the course of the year,” said Minvielle, underlining that “imports are therefore no longer following the same trend [as exports].”

Sourcing map is changing

This slowdown in European apparel imports is affecting all the EU’s major supplier countries. In the first nine months of 2023, the EU’s imports from Bangladesh fell by 16% compared to the same period in 2022, those from China and Hong Kong by 16%, from Turkey by 23%, from Pakistan by 15%, from India by 14%, from Cambodia by 11%, and from Burma by 15%. This downward trend is also affecting the various sourcing regions’ shares. After peaking at a 30.3% value share in 2020, China and Hong Kong dropped to 27.2% in the first nine months of 2023. By contrast, the aggregate share of other Asian countries rose to 45.5%, up from 40.2% in 2020, bringing Asia’s share of European apparel imports to 72.7%.Mediterranean basin countries are maintaining their market share, and in some cases managing to increase it. In 2019, the region accounted for 17.4% of European imports, but in the first nine months of 2023 its share rose to 18.5%. Highly strategic Turkish suppliers are holding their positions. “Certain countries are doing well, such as Tunisia, which has recently benefited from some returning clients,” said Minvielle.

Sustained export growth

While the sourcing map is being redrawn, European exports are confirming the growth trend that began in 2021, and are now significantly exceeding 2019 valuesคำพูดจาก สล็อตเว็บตรง. The EU is set to export €14.2 billion worth of apparel in 2023, an estimated 7.6% increase. The increase in the first nine months of the year was 7.9%.Intra-European exports have contributed only to a small degree to this increase, rising by 3%. But exports to Asia grew by 15.9%, with those to China and Hong Kong rising 4.9%. Exports to Japan grew by 34.4%, and to the USA by 18.9%.In 2022, the EU exported €13.2 billion worth of apparel, compared to €10.7 billion in 2019. The figure plummeted in 2020, down to €9.2 billion, before rising to €10.6 billion in 2021.In terms of textiles, Europe is expected to export €5.7 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 5.6% over 2022. In the first nine months of 2023, European textile exports posted a 5.6% increase, growing significantly in Asia, where orders were up 32.8%, and notably in China and Hong Kong, where they were up 42.5%. Textiles exports within the EU and to Japan increased by 4.1% and 5.2% respectively, but the USA has cut its orders for European textiles by 4.2%.