In the first six months of 2023, the European Union's (EU) apparel import from the world declined by 9.22% to US$ 43.60 billion from US$ 48.03 billion in the same period of 2022. The decline was seen in both value and quantity terms.

The top three apparel sourcing countries for the EU in January-June 2023 were Bangladesh, China, and Turkey. EU's import from Bangladesh declined by 13.65% in value terms to US$ 9.78 billion, while its import from China declined by 13.52% to US$ 10.54 billion. EU's import from Turkey declined by 11.12% in value terms to US$ 3.96 billion.

The unit price of EU's apparel import from the world increased by 8.52% in January-June 2023. This was due to a number of factors, including inflation and the increasing value of the euro.

• The decline in EU apparel import was driven by a number of factors, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and rising inflation.

• The decline was most pronounced in the value of apparel imports from Bangladesh, China, and Turkey.

• The unit price of EU apparel import increased due to inflation and the increasing value of the euro.

• The decline in EU apparel import is likely to continue in the coming months.