The European Union’s apparel imports rose 10.70 per cent in July this year. From January to July ’18, the EU’s imports of apparels upped marginally by 0.06 per cent. In this period the value of China’s apparel exports to the EU fell by 6.78 per cent. Unit prices this year too plunged by 1.60 per cent. The continued fall indicates China is no longer a favorite place for European buyers to place orders. But China remains the EU’s largest apparel sourcing destination, with Bangladesh taking second place.

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the EU grew 3.92 per cent year on year. Turkey somehow remained stable despite the worst ever economic crisis it is facing and managed to tap a 2.90 per cent growth in its apparel shipments to the EU. Turkey’s unit prices remained the highest among all top apparel exporters to the EU.

India’s value of apparel exports to the EU fell 3.02 per cent. India's readymade garment sector will continue to enjoy 20 per cent duty preference on exports for the next three years to EU markets. Vietnam saw a 2.44 per cent growth till July ’18.

The EU itself has a vibrant textile and clothing industry, covering a wide range of activities like transferring raw fiber into yarns and then yarns into fabric and then finally using the fabric to produce a wide range of finished products such as wool, bed-linen, geo-textiles, clothing, and synthetic yarns.