EU clothing trade: main import partners ranked by value 2015-2018
In 2018, the European Union imported 26.8 billion euros worth of clothing from China, the EU’s leading import partner in this category. The EU itself is an important supplier of clothing items to the rest of the world, Italy providing the greatest export value. Altogether, clothing exports from EU countries reached 129 billion euros in 2017.
Not surprisingly, the EU’s main source of clothing is also a global force when it comes to supplying textiles. China currently holds a 37 percent share of the world’s textile exports, while the EU itself is responsible for a quarter of textile products shipped to the rest of the world.
In 2018, the EU’s textile and clothing manufacturers generated the highest revenue in the textile segment at 91.4 billion euros, although turnover from clothing manufacturers did not differ greatly from that either.
China: global textile supplier
Not surprisingly, the EU’s main source of clothing is also a global force when it comes to supplying textiles. China currently holds a 37 percent share of the world’s textile exports, while the EU itself is responsible for a quarter of textile products shipped to the rest of the world.
EU’s textile and clothing businesses
In 2018, the EU’s textile and clothing manufacturers generated the highest revenue in the textile segment at 91.4 billion euros, although turnover from clothing manufacturers did not differ greatly from that either.
