In volume terms the European Union’s apparel imports from January to May ’17 fell 1.05 per cent. This includes a drop by 0.78 per cent in knitwear and 1.39 per cent in wovens. In value terms, EU’s apparel imports surged 1.03 per cent. The knitted segment saw a rise of 1.85 per cent whereas the woven segment was up by 0.28 per cent. The rise shows the EU is spending more value on the imported products. During the same period, unit value realisation was up 2.09 per cent against the same period last year. This shows prices are rising.

Clothing demand in the EU is declining continuously. Consumer trends are shifting from store purchases to digital shopping. Major apparel exporters including China, India and Bangladesh were down in their volume-wise apparel exports to the EU. The countries’ exports tumbled by 1.18 per cent, 1.22 per cent and 0.17 per cent respectively.

Amid falling exports, Bangladesh still witnessed an increase in the exported value by 4.25 per cent during the period. The weak euro for the second largest apparel exporter in the world proved to be the main factor behind the rising export value.