During the first quarter of 2017 the European Union’s apparel imports rose 0.33 per cent in value year-on-year. Particularly in March, it registered a strong growth in value of apparel imports by 2.56 per cent when compared with the growth a month earlier in February.

Knit imports were down 0.83 per cent in volume but up 1.91 per cent in value. On the other hand, imports of the woven category fell both in value (1.07 per cent) and volume (2.82 per cent) during the review period.

China and Bangladesh remained the top two apparel exporters in the first quarter of 2017 to EU. China’s exports of apparel to the EU were down 4.95 per cent in volume from the previous year and down 3.90 per cent in value from the previous year. Bangladesh’s exports were up 1.11 per cent in volume from the previous year and up 5.24 per cent in value from the previous year.

India’s value-wise apparel exports to the EU fell by 1.28 per cent on a year-on-year basis but volumes rose 1.43 per cent from a year earlier.

Pakistan’s total exports to the European Union increased by 38 per cent from 2013 to 2016, while textile exports increased by 55 per cent in value and 33 per cent in terms of quantity during the period under review.