Market evolution: Men's knitted coats (CN 6101) — 2015–2025
Introduction
This report analyzes the trade dynamics of men's or boys' knitted overcoats and similar articles (Customs Code 6101) for the European Union between 2015 and 2025. The period witnessed a significant expansion in the overall market value, driven primarily by rising imports. Despite this growth, the EU's trade deficit for this product category widened, indicating a sustained and deepening reliance on external suppliers. The analysis reveals substantial shifts in sourcing geography, evolving market concentration, and notable changes in the internal production landscape and product mix. The data window provided excludes incomplete periods, ensuring all comparisons are year-on-year.
The Divergent Paths of Imports and Exports: A Widening Deficit
The EU's trade in CN 6101 between 2015 and 2025 was characterized by strong import growth outpacing the more moderate rise in exports, leading to a growing trade deficit. This structural trend underscores the EU's role as a net consumer rather than a producer in this segment.
Imports surged while export growth remained moderate
Over the period, the value of EU imports of CN 6101 grew by 55.5%, rising from €363 million in 2015 to €564.5 million in 2025. Import volumes (by net mass) increased even more substantially, by 68.9%, indicating not only higher values but also a greater physical quantity of goods entering the bloc. In contrast, the value of EU exports grew by 53.1% to reach €231.9 million, while export volumes increased by 32.9%. The divergence in volume growth highlights a growing internal demand met predominantly by foreign supply.
Overall Trade Balance and Trends
The trade deficit deepened substantially
The negative balance in trade value, which stood at -€211.5 million in 2015, more than tripled to -€517 million at its peak in 2022. Although it narrowed to -€332.6 million by 2025, it remained significantly larger than at the start of the period, reflecting a persistent and increased structural dependency on imports. This trend was driven by the faster growth in import values compared to export revenues.
Price trends diverged between imports and exports
While the average import price per tonne fell by 7.9% over the period, the average export price per tonne increased by 15.1%. This suggests the EU was sourcing goods at a relatively lower cost per unit weight while commanding higher values for its exports. The divergence became even more pronounced when considering the price per piece: the export price per piece surged by 118.7%, whereas the import price per piece rose by only 10.9%. This indicates a significant move towards higher-value, more expensive items in EU exports.
A Geographical Pivot in Supply and Demand
The decade saw a dramatic reconfiguration of the EU's trading partners for this product category. Traditional partners saw their shares decline, while several Asian nations rapidly expanded their market presence. This shift is evident in both import sourcing and export destination data.
Import sourcing diversified away from China towards South and Southeast Asia
China remained the top single source of imports, but its share fell, with import values declining by 11.4% from 2015 to 2025. In contrast, suppliers like Bangladesh (+110.6%), Cambodia (+289.3%), Pakistan (+119.4%), and particularly Myanmar (+2354.2%) experienced explosive growth. This diversification is confirmed by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for import concentration, which fell sharply from 2271 to 1355, indicating a move away from reliance on a few dominant suppliers.
The UK's share of EU exports collapsed post-Brexit
The United Kingdom, the top destination for EU exports in 2015 (€66 million), saw its share plummet by 47.5% to just €34.7 million by 2025. This drastic reduction is a clear post-Brexit effect, fundamentally altering the EU's export profile. Other key partners like Switzerland and the United States saw strong growth (101.9% and 102.0% respectively), partially compensating for the loss. Export concentration also decreased dramatically (HHI from 2147 to 787), reflecting a more diversified customer base after the UK market shock.
The EU’s internal market also shifted, with Italy and France becoming larger exporters
Within the EU, the export landscape changed. Italy solidified its position as the top exporter, increasing its share by 64.2%. France emerged as a major growth story, with its export value soaring by 414.2%. Conversely, Spain's export value dropped by 65.5%. On the import side, the Netherlands (+95.9%) and Italy (+127.2%) saw the largest increases among major importing Member States.
Reshaping Production and the Product Mix
The period was marked by a substantial increase in EU production value, a change in the composition of traded goods, and a notable price shock linked to a key supplier.
EU production value grew dramatically, albeit from a low base
Reported EU production value for CN 6101 increased by 437.7% from €117.8 million to €633.7 million between 2015 and 2025. Production quantities (in pieces) also grew significantly by 183.7%. This indicates a potential revitalization or re-shoring of some high-value production within the EU, though the massive growth in the trade deficit shows it was insufficient to meet domestic demand.
Man-made fibres became the dominant material for both imports and exports
The breakdown by sub-product reveals a clear shift. For imports, goods made of man-made fibres (CN 610130) consistently held the largest share by value and mass. For exports, while cotton products (CN 610120) were significant, the most dynamic growth was in the "other textile materials" category (CN 610190), whose export value surged by 194% over the period, reaching €73.1 million in 2025. This suggests a move in EU exports towards specialized, potentially higher-margin products.
A supply shock from Bangladesh highlighted underlying volatility
In 2022, the average import price from Bangladesh spiked abnormally, with an abnormality score of 9.9 and a shift of 31.2%. As Bangladesh was the second-largest supplier (19.6% of import value), this shock had a significant market-wide impact, illustrating the vulnerability of the EU's concentrated supply chains.
Trade Volatility and Supply Shocks
Conclusion
The EU market for men's knitted coats (CN 6101) between 2015 and 2025 expanded in value but became more import-dependent, with the trade deficit widening considerably. The sourcing landscape underwent a profound geographical pivot, diversifying from China towards emerging Asian garment producers like Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Myanmar. This diversification reduced supplier concentration but introduced new volatility risks, as evidenced by price shocks from Bangladesh. Simultaneously, the UK's departure from the EU single market caused a seismic shift in export destinations, forcing a reorientation towards other partners like Switzerland and the United States. Domestically, while EU production value grew impressively, it was outpaced by demand. The product mix within trade evolved, with synthetic materials and higher-value, specialized items gaining prominence, particularly in exports. Overall, the period reflects an industry adapting to geopolitical shifts (Brexit) and optimizing its global supply chain, albeit at the cost of greater external reliance.