As per l’Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) European textiles and clothing imports each declined by 2 per cent in the first half of the year, while clothing exports increased by 4 per cent, and textiles by 2 per cent.
The EU exported €12.5 billion worth of clothing, of which €3.2 billion was exported to Asia and €927 million to the Mediterranean, Exports to Switzerland, its largest customer, increased by 11 per cent and to China by 21 per cent to €664 million. Other large orders were recorded in Korea (+ 11 per cent), Canada (+ 11 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (-12 per cent).
On the textile side, the United States imported €1.3 billion worth of goods, followed by China which imported €1.1 billion worth of textiles and Turkey €929 million. Among its main customers, orders from Serbia increased by 8 per cent and Bosnia-erzegovina by 10 per cent.
