EU textile & clothing sector sees subdued performance in 2016

The textile and clothing (T&C) sector has witnessed subdued performance in 2016, says a recent review. Despite a bright EU economy, T&C activity in EU lost dynamism in particular towards the end of the year. 2016 witnessed the slowest growth in EU exports since the financial crisis, while the retail turnover development was less dynamic than in previous year.

The EU's economic improvement did not, however, benefit the clothing sector (whose production fell a further), whilst the textile sector edged ahead by just +1.6 per cent, according to Bulletin N°4/2017 by Euratex. The bulletin has given insight into the 2016 Evolution of the textile and clothing sector and short term prospects as well as the general European Economic Forecast Autumn 2017.

"By 2016 end, the textile and clothing sector moved in opposite directions: textile activity improved to some extent, while activity in the clothing industry showed no signs of recovery. The index for textiles reached a new high in 2016 at 107.5, compared to 105.5 points in 2015 – an increase of +1.9 per cent. In the EU as a whole, investment only grew very slightly in 2016, taking into account the time lag between investment decisions and their implementation. Besides, Switzerland and Turkey faced declines in both sectors," the bulletin stated.

The preliminary data for the first quarter of 2017 was also favourable for the textile sector, albeit with decline in the traditional sectors of spinning and weaving, as well as nonwovens, whilst finishing has recovered somewhat. Knitted items (circular knitting) continued to grow, but at a reduced pace. ‘Other textiles’, including technical textiles, expanded more sustainably. The growth observed mainly came from the Eastern European countries.
"The clothing sector continued to cut production, yet turnover rose slightly. However, expectations during the second half of 2017 continued to rise in the clothing industry with positive assessments of production expectations," according to the bulletin.