The European Union’s import volume of T-shirts rose 6.06 per cent during January to April 2018. India’s export volumes of T-shirts to the EU rose 3.48 per cent. The rise in volume indicates India successfully caters to European buyers. However, to stay relevant and competitive, India dropped unit prices and, as a result, there was a fall of 0.55 per cent in T-shirt shipment value of exports to the EU in the same period.

Bangladesh’s export volume of T-shirts to the EU rose 10.81 per cent. But there was a 1.95 per cent drop in value terms. Vietnam was the only country among Asian manufacturing powerhouses which registered growth in both volume and value of T-shirt exports to the EU. Export volumes surged 4.20 per cent surge on a year on year basis, whereas shipment values were up 8.18 per cent during the review period.

Despite the fact that China remains a key global centre for the T-shirts, production is gradually shifting to other countries in Asia. Asian countries accounted for the highest dollar worth of exported T-shirts (inclusive of all materials) during 2017 and had a 56.7 per cent share of worldwide exports.