Market evolution: Knitwear of other textile materials (CN 611090) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of EU trade in jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles of textile materials (excluding wool, fine animal hair, cotton, and man-made fibres) classified under CN code 611090 over the period 2015–2025. The product category encompasses knitwear made from less conventional fibres—primarily flax, ramie, silk, hemp, and other vegetable or animal textiles not elsewhere specified. Over the decade, the EU market for these goods has undergone profound structural transformation: both import and export values converged near €207 million by 2025, yet the underlying volume trajectories diverged sharply. EU production collapsed, sourcing geographies diversified dramatically, and the Union's role shifted from a modest net importer toward that of a high-value re-exporter. This report unpacks these dynamics across three dimensions: the volume–price decomposition of trade flows, the geographic restructuring of supply and demand, and the EU's evolving position in the global value chain.

Scope & Definitions

I. Same Value, Opposite Stories: Volume Decline Meets Price Euphoria

Export value grew despite falling volumes, driven by a dramatic unit-price increase

The headline figures for EU trade in CN 611090 appear deceptively balanced: both import and export values rose by approximately 30% over the decade, reaching €207.1 million and €207.8 million respectively by 2025. However, a closer examination of volumes and unit prices reveals that this apparent symmetry conceals two fundamentally different dynamics.

The EU exported 14.9% fewer tonnes of knitwear in 2025 than in 2015, yet export value rose by 29.4%. This is explained entirely by a 51.8% surge in the average export price per tonne, which climbed from €108,479 to €164,638. By contrast, imports grew in both value (+29.7%) and volume (+23.0%), with unit prices rising only modestly (+5.4%). The EU is thus buying more physical product from abroad while selling less of it—but at significantly higher prices.

The per-item price gap widened further, confirming a premium positioning

The supplementary unit data (items count) reinforces this interpretation. EU export volumes in items fell from 4.6 million pieces to 3.5 million (−24.2%), while the per-item export price surged from €35.1 to €60.0 (+70.8%). Import item volumes, conversely, grew from 16.7 million to 21.3 million (+27.6%), with per-item prices virtually flat (€9.6 to €9.7, +1.2%). This enormous per-item price gap—€60 on export versus under €10 on import—points to a market in which the EU sources basic, mass-market knitwear from low-cost producers and re-exports substantially smaller volumes of high-value, likely branded or design-intensive product.

2022 marked the cycle peak, followed by a partial correction

The trade data reveals a pronounced peak in 2022, when both import and export values reached their respective maxima (€210.9 million for imports and €239.7 million for exports). This likely reflects a combination of post-pandemic demand recovery, inventory rebuilding, and inflationary pressures on textile prices. Export values subsequently corrected to €207.8 million in 2025, while import values settled near their 2025 level. The 2022 peak in export value was driven by exceptional volumes (1,783 tonnes, the highest in the series) combined with elevated pricing.

General Overview

II. From Chinese Monopoly to Diversified Supply: The Restructuring of EU Sourcing

China's import dominance eroded but it remains the largest single supplier

China was by far the EU's primary source of knitwear under CN 611090 in 2015, supplying €89.4 million—more than half of total imports by value. By 2025, Chinese shipments had declined to €82.1 million (−8.2%), reducing China's share of total import value to roughly 40%. This decline occurred even as total import value rose, meaning other suppliers captured the majority of growth.

Bangladesh, Tunisia, and Pakistan emerged as major alternative suppliers

The most striking feature of the import restructuring is the rapid rise of three suppliers:

Tunisia's growth is particularly remarkable: from under €2 million in 2015 to over €20 million by 2025, an almost tenfold increase. This likely reflects the EU–Tunisia Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and Tunisia's proximity advantage for fast-fashion supply chains. Bangladesh and Pakistan's rises are consistent with the broader trend of textile and apparel manufacturing shifting toward South and Southeast Asia, driven by labour cost differentials. Türkiye also maintained steady growth as a nearshoring option for EU buyers.

The United Kingdom's role diminished on both sides of the trade ledger

Post-Brexit, the United Kingdom's position in EU knitwear trade declined. UK imports into the EU fell from €17.8 million to €13.6 million (−23.5%), while EU exports to the UK dropped from €26.9 million to €20.5 million (−23.8%). The UK had been the EU's single largest export destination in 2015 but was overtaken by the United States by 2025.

Export destinations shifted toward Asia and the Americas

The geographic composition of EU exports underwent a pronounced eastward and westward pivot:

The United States became the EU's top export market by 2025 (€35.9 million), displacing the United Kingdom. South Korea and Israel saw explosive growth, while Russia halved—likely reflecting geopolitical sanctions and trade disruption following 2022. The growth in exports to China suggests that EU-origin knitwear found a niche in the Chinese market, possibly as luxury or premium-positioned goods.

Import sourcing concentration declined sharply

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for import concentration by value fell from 3,392 in 2015 to 2,036 in 2025 (−40.0%), indicating a significant reduction in import source concentration. An HHI above 2,500 typically signals a highly concentrated market; by 2025, imports had moved below this threshold, reflecting genuine diversification away from Chinese dependence. Export concentration was already lower (HHI fell from 1,016 to 798) and declined more modestly (−21.4%), confirming that EU exports were already distributed across multiple markets.

Top Partners by Value

III. The Collapse of EU Production and the Rise of the Re-Exporter Model

EU domestic production virtually disappeared

Perhaps the most dramatic structural shift in this market is the near-total collapse of EU production. According to PRODCOM data, EU production of CN 611090 goods fell from 119.6 million items in 2015 to just 6.2 million items in 2025—a decline of 94.8%. Production value fell by 65.8%, from €789.2 million to €269.9 million. The fact that the value decline was less severe than the volume decline indicates that the remaining EU production is concentrated in higher-value segments.

This production collapse fundamentally altered the EU's trade position. In 2015, net import reliance stood at +2.5%, meaning the EU was a marginal net importer relative to its production base. By 2025, this indicator had swung to −19.6%—a reversal of 893 percentage points. While a negative net import reliance ratio can reflect various dynamics, in this context it underscores that the EU's domestic supply base has shrunk far faster than its export capacity, suggesting the emergence of a "converter" or "re-exporter" model: the EU imports large volumes of basic knitwear but retains—and has even strengthened—its capacity to export smaller volumes at premium prices.

Trade intensity and export propensity surged

Two vulnerability indicators confirm the EU's deepening integration into global knitwear trade:

Trade intensity (the ratio of trade to production) rose from 4.2% to 91.9%, indicating that by 2025, the EU's external trade in CN 611090 nearly matched its entire domestic production in scale. Export propensity—the share of production that is exported—jumped from under 1% to over 86%. These figures point to an industry where virtually all output is now destined for export markets, and where imported goods increasingly serve domestic consumption needs.

The flax/ramie segment saw dramatic price appreciation in exports

The product breakdown reveals divergent trajectories between the two sub-categories. Sub-heading 61109090 ("other textile materials," excluding flax/ramie) accounts for the vast majority of both import and export volumes. However, sub-heading 61109010 (flax and ramie knitwear) displayed remarkable export price dynamics:

Flax/ramie knitwear export prices per item more than tripled over the decade, rising from €22.03 to €76.19. This suggests growing international demand for EU-origin linen knitwear—possibly linked to sustainability trends favouring natural fibres and Europe's historic strength in flax cultivation and processing. Import volumes of flax/ramie knitwear also grew from 919 tonnes to 654 tonnes in 2020 before recovering to 654 tonnes in 2025, indicating a market that experienced disruption but has stabilised.

Italian and French exporters consolidated their dominance

Within the EU, Italy remained the dominant exporter throughout the period, accounting for approximately half of all EU export value (€97.9 million in 2015, €97.9 million in 2025). France saw the most dramatic growth, with export value rising from €22.8 million to €61.9 million (+171.9%), likely reflecting the expansion of French luxury and premium knitwear brands. Together, Italy and France accounted for roughly 77% of EU exports by 2025.

Among EU importers, Spain and France showed the strongest growth (Spain: +62.6%; France: +58.6%), while Germany's imports contracted by 34.1%, potentially reflecting shifting consumption patterns or the reorientation of German sourcing toward direct Asian imports outside the EU reporting framework.

Top Reporters by Value

Conclusion

The EU market for knitwear of "other" textile materials (CN 611090) underwent a fundamental transformation between 2015 and 2025. The most significant structural change was the near-total collapse of domestic production—down 94.8% by volume—which repositioned the EU from a self-sufficient producer into a major re-exporter and high-value niche supplier. This transition is reflected in the striking divergence between import and export price trajectories: export unit prices rose 51.8% (and 70.8% per item) while import prices barely moved, yielding a per-item export-to-import price ratio of roughly 6:1 by 2025.

Geographically, the decade saw meaningful supply diversification away from China—whose import share declined—toward Bangladesh, Tunisia, Pakistan, and Türkiye. On the export side, the United States emerged as the leading destination, overtaking the post-Brexit United Kingdom, while South Korea and China itself became significant markets for EU-origin knitwear. The collapse of the Russian market and the weakening of Swiss and UK demand highlight the geopolitical realignment of trade flows.

Looking ahead, several risks bear watching. The EU's extreme dependence on imports for basic knitwear—reflected in trade intensity of 91.9% and export propensity of 86.3%—creates exposure to supply-chain disruptions. Volatility analysis identifies Pakistan (coefficient of variation: 0.84) and India (0.99) as the most unstable import sources, while export price shocks were detected in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2020, +250.8% shift) and Japan (2023, +57.8% shift). At the same time, the exceptional price appreciation of flax/ramie exports—up 245.8% per item—suggests that the EU's remaining production advantages lie firmly in premium natural-fibre knitwear, a segment likely to benefit from continued consumer demand for sustainability and provenance.