EU textile and clothing imports rose in value by 9.6%to Eurol09.42 bn (US$121.35 bn) in 2015, following an 8.9% increase in the previous year. As a result, imports reached a record high in value terms. In terms of volume, however, imports fell by 1.1%. Having said that, the fall came after a 9.0% increase in the previous year and, as a result, imports in volume terms were still at their second highest level on record. Textile imports were up by 8.4% in value and 1.2% in volume while clothing imports were up by 10.0% in value but down by 4.6% in volume. The average price of EU textile and clothing imports rose by 10.9%. The rise represented the sixth increase in eight years and, as a result, the average import price was at its highest level in several years. Having said that, the rise in 2015 reflected a sharp 16.4% depreciation in the euro against the US dollar. In US dollar terms, the average import price actually fell—by 7.3%—and imports were down in value by 8.4%. The overall rise in the average import price in euro terms in 2015 reflected a 7.1% increase in the average price of textile imports and a 15.4% jump in the average price of clothing imports. There were increases in the average prices of textile and clothing imports from as many as nine of the EU's leading ten supplying countries, namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan, Tunisia, I Turkey, the USA and Vietnam. The only fall in average price occurred in the case of imports from Morocco. In the first four months of 2016, EU textile and clothing imports were up by 2.2% in value and 5.9% in volume compared with the corresponding period a year earlier. The faster rise in volume reflected a 3.6% fall in their average price. This will have come as welcome news to EU buyers and importers, especially as it followed a 10.9%price hike in 2015 as a whole. These trends in EU textile and clothing imports overall were seen in EU textile imports and in EU clothing imports. Textile imports were up by 3.4% in value and 8.1% in volume, reflecting a 4.4% decline in their average price, while clothing imports were up by 1.7% in value and 2.4% in volume, reflecting a 0.7% decline in their average price.
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