The average price of EU textile and clothing imports jumped 14.2 percent during the first quarter of 2015, says the latest issue of Textile Outlook International from Textiles Intelligence.
The value of the euro had depreciated by 18.9 percent in the second half of 2014, leading to EU product price increases—the average price of clothing imports alone increased by 17.8 percent. Importers responded by reducing EU textile imports by 0.6 percent and clothing imports by 3.7 percent.
While these cuts seem small, they took place before the full impact of euro depreciation emerged. The situation isn’t likely to improve anytime soon; the euro is forecast to depreciate against the U.S. dollar by 21.3 percent by the end of 2015.
Source: Textiles Intelligence