Market evolution: Knitted clothing accessories (CN 6117) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of EU trade in made-up knitted or crocheted clothing accessories (Customs Nomenclature code 6117) over the period 2015–2025. The product heading encompasses three sub-categories: shawls, scarves, mufflers and the like (611710); ties, bow ties and other made-up accessories (611780); and parts of garments or clothing accessories (611790). Together, these items form a heterogeneous but commercially significant segment within the broader knitted apparel sector.

The decade under review has been one of structural transformation rather than simple growth. EU exports of CN 6117 grew by 74.5% in value terms (from EUR 151.7 million to EUR 264.8 million), while imports remained broadly stable at approximately EUR 330–370 million throughout the period. Behind these headline figures, however, lies a more complex story involving a dramatic collapse in domestic production, a fundamental geographic realignment of trade partners, and diverging fortunes across product sub-segments. The analysis that follows unpacks these dynamics, drawing on trade overview data, partner-level flows, and product-level breakdowns.

1. A Narrowing Deficit Masking a Structural Transformation

The trade deficit improved substantially over the decade

The EU's trade balance in CN 6117 moved from a deficit of EUR −182.4 million in 2015 to a deficit of only EUR −65.9 million in 2025, representing an improvement of 63.9%. In between, the balance even briefly turned positive in some years (reaching a surplus of EUR 13.0 million at its peak). This convergence was driven by two complementary forces: exports rose sharply while imports remained largely flat.

Source: Trade overview

Domestic production collapsed, fundamentally reshaping the EU's external exposure

While the trade balance tells an encouraging story, the production data reveals a far more dramatic development. EU production of CN 6117 fell from 86.9 million pieces in 2015 to just 11.8 million pieces in 2025 — a decline of 86.4% in quantity terms. Production value declined from EUR 386.6 million to EUR 239.3 million (−38.1%), indicating that while volumes collapsed, surviving producers shifted toward higher-value output.

This production implosion had profound consequences for the EU's structural position in global markets. The net import reliance shifted from −1.7% in 2015 to 24.5% in 2025, meaning that the EU moved from near self-sufficiency to significant dependence on foreign supply. Similarly, export propensity surged from 5.8% to 105.0%, indicating that exports now exceed domestic production — a hallmark of a re-export or outward-processing economy. Trade intensity followed the same trajectory, rising from 9.5% to 102.1%.

Import prices rose while export prices diverged by sub-category

Overall import unit values increased by 12.3% (from EUR 14,709/t to EUR 16,525/t), while export unit values rose by 8.0% (from EUR 35,127/t to EUR 37,929/t). The persistent two-to-one price gap between exports and imports reflects a structural pattern: the EU imports predominantly lower-value accessories in bulk (particularly scarves and shawls from Asia) and exports higher-value or specialised items (including garment parts sent for outward processing to North Africa).

2. Geographic Realignment: China's Endurance, North Africa's Rise, and the UK's Retreat

China remained the overwhelmingly dominant import supplier throughout the decade

China accounted for approximately EUR 246.6 million of EU CN 6117 imports in 2015 and EUR 237.2 million in 2025 — a modest decline of just 3.8%. Throughout the period, Chinese goods represented roughly 70–75% of all extra-EU imports by value, reflecting the enduring centrality of Chinese manufacturing in this segment. The import concentration index (HHI) remained elevated at 5,312 in 2025 (down only slightly from 5,524 in 2015), confirming that import sourcing remained heavily concentrated.

Among secondary suppliers, the trajectories diverged significantly:

Source: Partners by value

Southeast and South Asian suppliers gained ground at the expense of established ones

Viet Nam (+268.1%) and Bangladesh (+37.2%) emerged as growing import sources, consistent with the broader trend of textile and apparel supply chain diversification away from China. Meanwhile, India (−49.3%), Myanmar (−51.9%), and the United Kingdom (−58.8%) all saw substantial declines. The UK's collapse is particularly notable and likely reflects the combined effects of Brexit-related trade frictions and broader structural shifts in European sourcing patterns. The UK trade volatility was exceptionally high (coefficient of variation of 3.24 for imports), reflecting sharp year-to-year swings around the Brexit transition.

EU exports to Morocco grew more than twentyfold, reshaping the export geography

The most dramatic shift on the export side was the surge in EU exports to Morocco, which rose from EUR 2.0 million in 2015 to EUR 53.8 million in 2025 — an extraordinary increase of 2,557.6%. This made Morocco the EU's single largest export destination for CN 6117 by 2025, displacing the United Kingdom (EUR 31.9 million → EUR 21.1 million, −33.9%). Tunisia followed a similar trajectory, growing from EUR 4.1 million to EUR 17.8 million (+340.2%).

Source: Partners by value

The explosion of EU exports to Morocco and Tunisia is strongly indicative of outward processing trade (OPT). EU-based companies send garment parts and semi-finished knitted accessories to these North African countries for assembly or finishing, then re-import the finished products. This interpretation is supported by the concurrent surge in exports of sub-category 611790 (parts of garments), discussed in the next section. The Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements and preferential rules of origin under the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean system facilitate this triangular trade model.

The EU export market became more diversified while import concentration persisted

The export HHI stood at 873 in 2025, compared with 874 in 2015 — a consistently low level indicating a well-diversified export base. In contrast, the import HHI of 5,312 highlights persistent concentration around China. The reporter-level data shows that Italy (EUR 97.9 million in exports, +62.1%) and Spain (EUR 63.5 million, +392.6%) were the EU's leading exporters, with Spain's growth particularly striking and likely linked to its proximity to North African processing hubs.

3. Product Sub-Segment Divergence: Garment Parts Surge as Scarves and Shawls Stagnate

The three sub-categories of CN 6117 followed markedly different trajectories

Breaking down the aggregate figures by the three constituent sub-categories reveals that the overall trends mask significant internal divergence. Garment parts (611790) emerged as the fastest-growing segment on the export side, while shawls and scarves (611710) — the historically dominant import category — contracted in volume terms.

Imports by sub-category (value, EUR million):

Exports by sub-category (value, EUR million):

Source: Product segment breakdown

Garment parts (611790) became the EU's leading export sub-category by value

Sub-category 611790 (parts of garments or clothing accessories) saw its export value increase from EUR 40.4 million in 2015 to EUR 125.9 million in 2025 — a rise of 211.5%. In volume terms, exports grew from 1,981 tonnes to 5,458 tonnes (+175.5%). By 2025, this sub-category accounted for 47.5% of all EU CN 6117 exports by value, up from 26.6% in 2015. The rapid growth aligns precisely with the outward processing trade pattern described above: EU manufacturers increasingly export cut or semi-finished knitted components to Morocco, Tunisia, and other nearby countries for assembly, reflecting a strategy to combine European design and quality control with lower-cost labour abroad.

Scarves and shawls (611710) declined as the import mainstay while volumes fell sharply

On the import side, shawls, scarves, mufflers and similar items (611710) remained the single largest category but experienced a notable contraction. Import volumes fell from 18,365 tonnes in 2015 to 10,948 tonnes in 2025 (−40.4%), and import value declined from EUR 254.8 million to EUR 183.0 million (−28.2%). However, unit import prices for this sub-category rose from EUR 13,873/t to EUR 16,708/t (+20.4%), suggesting that the remaining trade shifted toward higher-value products. The price shock detected in 2017 for EU exports to China (a 63.2% price shift with an abnormality score of 35.4) may reflect changes in the composition or quality of traded goods during this transitional period.

The 2020 pandemic shock affected all segments but the recovery was uneven

The year 2020 marked a clear disruption across all sub-categories. Import volumes for 611710 dropped from 14,146 tonnes (2019) to 8,529 tonnes (−39.7%), while exports of the same sub-category fell from 1,362 tonnes to 958 tonnes (−29.8%). However, exports of 611790 (parts) proved more resilient, declining only from 2,072 tonnes to 1,729 tonnes (−16.6%), and then surging to 2,813 tonnes in 2021. This resilience is consistent with the outward-processing model, where production arrangements in North Africa proved less disrupted than consumer-facing retail channels for finished scarves and accessories. The UK price shock in 2021 — an 83.0% export price shift with 113.8% import price shift — likely reflects post-Brexit customs adjustments and supply chain reconfiguration rather than a fundamental demand shock.

Conclusion

The EU market for knitted clothing accessories (CN 6117) underwent a profound structural transformation between 2015 and 2025. Three defining features stand out.

First, the EU's domestic production base eroded dramatically — falling by 86.4% in volume — turning the bloc from near self-sufficiency into a significantly import-dependent economy. This deindustrialisation occurred even as the trade deficit narrowed, because export growth was increasingly driven by re-export and outward processing activities rather than by the sale of domestically manufactured goods.

Second, the geographic landscape of trade shifted fundamentally. China retained its overwhelming dominance on the import side (approximately 70–75% of extra-EU imports), but new sourcing hubs emerged in Southeast Asia. On the export side, Morocco and Tunisia replaced the United Kingdom and Serbia as the EU's primary export destinations, reflecting the expansion of Euro-Mediterranean outward processing arrangements. The United Kingdom's role in EU CN 6117 trade — both as an import source and an export destination — diminished sharply, a development clearly linked to Brexit.

Third, the product composition of trade evolved toward garment parts and away from finished accessories. The explosive growth of sub-category 611790 exports (parts of garments) is the clearest indicator that the EU increasingly functions as a coordinator of fragmented, cross-border production chains rather than as a traditional manufacturer and exporter of finished knitted accessories. While this model sustains European value capture through design, branding, and quality management, it also exposes the EU to greater supply-chain vulnerability — a risk underscored by the sharp rise in net import reliance and the persistent concentration of import sourcing around China.