Market evolution: Nonwoven garments (CN 621010) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of EU trade in garments made of felt or nonwoven textiles (Customs code 621010) over the period 2015–2025. The product category encompasses a broad range of non-knitted garments, including single-use surgical gowns (62101092), other nonwoven garments (62101098), and felt garments (62101010). The period under review was marked by a dramatic pandemic-driven shock in 2020, a subsequent normalisation, and longer-term structural shifts that have fundamentally altered the EU's position as both an importer and exporter of these goods. By 2025, the EU's net import reliance had more than doubled, its export capacity had contracted sharply, and the geographic landscape of its suppliers had been redrawn.

I. A Decade of Divergence: Shrinking Exports and Growing Import Dependence

EU exports collapsed in value while imports continued to grow

The most striking feature of the 2015–2025 period is the stark divergence between import and export trajectories. EU exports fell from €297.0 million in 2015 to €94.2 million in 2025, a decline of 68.3% in value. Over the same period, imports grew from €363.5 million to €423.4 million, an increase of 16.5%.

The trade deficit widened from €66.5 million to €329.2 million — nearly a fivefold increase. Notably, the decline in export value (−68.3%) far exceeded the decline in export volume (−16.6%), indicating a substantial erosion of unit export prices over the decade.

Unit price dynamics reveal a structural competitiveness gap

Export unit prices fell from €41,757 per tonne in 2015 to €15,872 per tonne in 2025 (−62.0%), while import prices declined more modestly from €5,847/t to €5,355/t (−8.4%). The sharp decline in export prices likely reflects a compositional shift: high-value felt garments (62101010), which once dominated EU exports at very high unit prices (€137,417/t in 2015), saw their export value collapse from €225.8 million to just €5.4 million. This was only partially offset by stable or growing volumes in surgical gowns and other nonwoven garments. Meanwhile, import prices remained anchored by the large volumes of lower-cost nonwoven garments sourced from Asia.

EU production volumes surged, but value did not follow

EU domestic production of nonwoven garments rose from 105.3 million items to 280.0 million items (+165.9%), yet production value fell from €401.1 million to €197.3 million (−50.8%). This implies a dramatic compression of average production value per unit — from approximately €3.81 per item in 2015 to €0.70 per item in 2025 — consistent with a shift toward mass-produced, lower-value items (particularly disposable surgical gowns) and away from higher-value felt garments.

II. The 2020 Pandemic Shock and Its Lasting Aftermath

COVID-19 triggered an unprecedented import surge driven by surgical gowns

The year 2020 stands out as an extreme outlier. EU imports of CN 621010 goods surged to €3.29 billion — nearly a tenfold increase from 2019 — and import volumes peaked at 176,737 tonnes, nearly triple the pre-pandemic level. This shock was overwhelmingly concentrated in single-use surgical gowns (62101092), whose import volume surged from 32,835 tonnes in 2019 to 93,720 tonnes in 2020, and whose import value jumped from €177.7 million to €1.91 billion. Prices for this sub-product more than tripled, from €5,412/t to €20,347/t.

The pandemic shock was not limited to gowns: other nonwoven garments (62101098) also saw a near-sevenfold value increase to €1.31 billion, while felt garments (62101010) rose more modestly to €80.2 million.

China dominated the pandemic-era supply surge

China was the primary beneficiary of the EU's emergency import demand. Chinese imports into the EU spiked from €227.5 million in 2019 to €2.35 billion in 2020, accounting for 78.8% of the total import value that year. The price shock from China was also pronounced, with an abnormality score of 110.5 and a year-on-year shift of +415.1%, indicating extraordinary pricing conditions during the emergency. Türkiye's imports also surged to €464.8 million in 2020 (from €7.4 million in 2019), reflecting its role as an alternative supplier during the crisis.

The post-pandemic normalisation was rapid but incomplete

By 2021, import values had already fallen sharply to approximately €1.1 billion, and by 2022 they had returned to near pre-pandemic levels (€549 million). By 2025, total imports stood at €423.4 million — only 16.5% above the 2015 baseline, suggesting that the pandemic shock did not permanently reset the market to a higher equilibrium. However, several lasting effects are visible:

• Import volumes in 2025 (79,060 tonnes) remained 27.2% above 2015 levels, indicating some structural increase in demand for nonwoven garments.
• Export volumes, conversely, never recovered, standing at 5,933 tonnes in 2025 — 16.6% below 2015.
• EU net import reliance rose from 42.5% in 2015 to 88.7% in 2025, and peaked at 94.6% in 2022, reflecting a permanently higher dependence on external suppliers.

III. Shifting Trade Partners and Changing Geopolitical Concentration

Asia consolidated its role as the EU's primary supplier

The geographic composition of EU imports shifted markedly over the decade. China remained the dominant partner, with imports rising from €208.3 million to €234.3 million (+12.5%). However, several other Asian suppliers gained ground:

Viet Nam and Myanmar emerged as significant new suppliers, reflecting the broader "China+1" diversification strategy adopted by global apparel supply chains. Tunisia also gained market share, benefiting from its proximity to Europe and trade preferences. Conversely, Cambodia — once the second-largest supplier — saw its share decline.

Brexit reshaped EU–UK trade flows in both directions

The United Kingdom's departure from the EU single market had a pronounced impact on trade in nonwoven garments. EU imports from the UK fell from €22.6 million in 2015 to just €1.3 million in 2025 (−94.5%), with the steepest decline occurring after 2020. Similarly, EU exports to the UK — once the largest export destination at €29.3 million — fell to €16.4 million (−44.1%). This suggests that the introduction of customs formalities and regulatory barriers significantly disrupted previously frictionless trade flows.

The Russian market was lost entirely

EU exports to the Russian Federation collapsed from €40.3 million in 2015 to just €273 thousand in 2025 (−99.3%). This near-total loss reflects the impact of EU sanctions imposed following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which effectively closed one of the EU's largest non-EU export markets for this product category.

Within the EU, Italy's export dominance evaporated

Among EU member states, Italy experienced the most dramatic shift. Italian exports fell from €228.5 million in 2015 to €13.6 million in 2025 (−94.0%), erasing what had been a dominant position. Belgium, by contrast, saw exports surge from €6.5 million to €25.2 million (+286.9%), becoming the EU's largest exporter. The Netherlands (+348.2%) and France (+203.7%) also expanded their export shares. This redistribution may reflect shifts in production specialisation, re-export activity through Antwerp, and the decline of Italy's once-dominant felt garment industry.

Import concentration decreased modestly despite China's continued dominance

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for import concentration declined from 3,712 to 3,312 (−10.8%), indicating a modest diversification of supply sources. While China remained the single largest supplier, the emergence of Myanmar, Viet Nam, and Tunisia contributed to a less concentrated import base. Export concentration also declined (HHI from 1,214 to 952, −21.6%), reflecting the fragmentation of export destinations following the loss of Russia and reduced UK trade.

Conclusion

The EU market for nonwoven garments (CN 621010) underwent profound structural change between 2015 and 2025. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 produced an extraordinary import shock — driven by emergency demand for surgical gowns — that briefly inflated trade values to over €3 billion before rapidly normalising. Beyond this acute event, three durable trends define the decade: a near-complete collapse of EU export competitiveness (−68.3% in value), a doubling of net import reliance (from 42.5% to 88.7%), and a fundamental reshaping of trade geography — with the rise of new Asian suppliers, the loss of the Russian market, and the disruptive impact of Brexit on EU–UK flows. The EU's domestic production, while growing in volume, shifted decisively toward lower-value items, signalling a long-term structural adjustment away from higher-value felt garments and toward commoditised nonwoven products. Looking forward, the EU's deepening import dependence and the continued diversification of its supply base present both opportunities for resilience and vulnerabilities in an increasingly fragmented global trade environment.