EU textile and clothing imports rose in value by 2.1% to a record high of Enrol 14.84 bn(US$135.56 bn)in 2018 following a 1.9% increase in 2017.In terms of volume, imports rose by 2.6%, also to a record high.Textile imports were up by 1.5% in value and 2.2% in volume while clothing imports were up by 2.3%)in value and 3.1% in volume.The average price of EU textile and clothing imports fell by 0.5% in euro terms.The fall reflected a 0.7% decline in the averageprice of EU textile imports and a 0.9%decline in the average price of EU clothing imports.Having said all that, the average price of EU textile and clothing imports was still at its fifth highest level in several years, although this was partly a reflection of movements in currency exchange rates.In 2018 the value of the euro was 10.1% lower than in 2014 and was below the levels seen during 2004-14-despite a 5.8% appreciation compared with 2017.A geographical breakdown shows that there were falls in the average prices of textile and clothing imports from all of the EU's leading ten supplying countries, namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey and Vietnam.The EU's biggest textile and clothing supplying country in 2018 was, by far, China.However, the share ofEU textile and clothing imports which came from China was down in value and volume terms as imports from the country remained more or less static in value and rose by only 0.9% in volume.Of the other nine supplying countries which ranked among the leading ten, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Morocco, Myanmar, Tunisia and Vietnam all gained share in the EU import market in both value and volume terms while India, Pakistan and Turkey lost share in value terms but gained share in terms of volume.
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