Market evolution: Silk waste yarn (CN 5005) — 2015–2025
Introduction
This report examines the evolution of EU trade in yarn spun from silk waste (Combined Nomenclature code 5005), excluding yarn put up for retail sale, over the period 2015–2025. The product occupies a niche position within the broader silk chapter and is closely linked to textile luxury segments — particularly high-end weaving and fashion supply chains centred in Italy and, to a lesser extent, Romania and France.
Over the decade, the EU has undergone a structural transformation in this market. Domestic production collapsed dramatically, import dependence surged to near-total reliance on external suppliers, and China consolidated its position as the overwhelmingly dominant source of supply. At the same time, unit prices for both imports and exports rose sharply, reflecting both global cost pressures and a shift toward higher-value transactions. The following three sections unpack these dynamics in detail.
1. The Hollowing-Out of EU Production and the Surge in Import Dependence
EU production of silk waste yarn fell by over 95 %
The most striking structural development over the period is the near-total collapse of EU production. Reported EU production of yarn spun from silk waste declined from 9,300 tonnes (valued at €22.3 million) in the first observed period to just 400 tonnes (valued at €4.0 million) by the end of the window — a drop of 95.7 % in volume and 82.1 % in value. Production hit a trough of only 189 tonnes in an intermediate year before partially recovering. This collapse reflects the long-term deindustrialisation of European silk processing, a trend driven by high labour costs, the relocation of textile manufacturing to Asia, and declining raw silk cocoon availability in Europe.
Imports nearly doubled in volume and value
As domestic production contracted, EU imports of CN 5005 rose substantially:
| Indicator | 2015 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Import value (EUR) | 23,700,368 | 38,308,924 | +61.6 % |
| Import volume (tonnes) | 482.5 | 728.5 | +51.0 % |
| Import unit price (EUR/t) | 49,121 | 52,589 | +7.1 % |
Imports hit a trough of €17.3 million (404 tonnes) in a mid-period year — likely 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic's disruption to global textile supply chains — before rebounding strongly to their highest-ever levels by 2025.
Net import reliance approached 90 %
The combination of collapsing production and rising imports produced a dramatic increase in net import reliance, which surged from 30.5 % in the first period to 88.4 % in the last — a 190 % increase. This means the EU now sources nearly nine-tenths of its silk waste yarn consumption from outside the bloc. Similarly, trade intensity rose from 41.6 % to 105.9 %, indicating that trade volumes now exceed domestic production — a hallmark of a market where the EU increasingly acts as a processor or intermediary rather than a primary producer.
The trade deficit widened correspondingly, from −€19.8 million to −€33.1 million (−67.1 %).
2. China's Consolidation as the EU's Dominant — and Volatile — Supplier
China accounts for the vast majority of EU imports
Among import partners, China's dominance is overwhelming and growing:
| Partner | 2015 (EUR) | 2025 (EUR) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 21,229,388 | 34,514,569 | +62.6 % |
| Thailand | 100,046 | 1,530,877 | +1,430.2 % |
| Switzerland | 1,392,760 | 1,508,581 | +8.3 % |
| Japan | 96,256 | 649,798 | +575.1 % |
| India | 501,237 | 14,410 | −97.1 % |
| Viet Nam | 327,882 | 8,647 | −97.4 % |
| United Kingdom | 30,712 | 6,718 | −78.1 % |
China's share of EU imports grew from roughly 89.6 % to about 90.1 % of total import value, making the EU's supply base extraordinarily concentrated. The import-side Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) remained at very high levels (around 8,065 to 8,158), confirming a near-monopolistic supply structure.
Alternative suppliers failed to diversify the import base
Several smaller suppliers showed dramatic percentage changes but remained marginal in absolute terms. Thailand emerged as a notable new entrant, rising from just €100,000 to over €1.5 million — the largest proportional increase (+1,430 %). Japan similarly grew from €96,000 to €650,000. However, India and Viet Nam — both traditional silk producers — saw their exports to the EU collapse by over 97 % each, potentially reflecting shifts in their own domestic processing priorities or trade policy changes. The United Kingdom, post-Brexit, also fell sharply as a source (−78.1 %).
A significant price shock hit EU imports from China in 2022
The volatility analysis detected a notable price shock in EU imports from China in 2022, with an abnormality score of 10.6 and a year-on-year price shift of +28.4 %. This event accounted for 100 % of the import-side shock value for that year. The shock was likely driven by COVID-related production disruptions in China, elevated energy costs, and global shipping bottlenecks that characterised the 2021–2022 period. A corresponding but smaller price shock was also detected in EU exports to China in 2022 (abnormality 4.2, shift +66.9 %).
Among import partners, India (coefficient of variation 1.47), Taiwan (1.54), and the United Kingdom (1.21) exhibited the highest trade volatility, though in all cases these were marginal suppliers — reinforcing the point that the EU's supply risk is concentrated in a single, albeit relatively stable, source (China, CV of 0.19).
3. Rising Export Values in a Thinning Volume Market — Italy at the Centre
Export volumes declined while values and prices surged
While imports grew, EU exports told a different story:
| Indicator | 2015 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export value (EUR) | 3,925,423 | 5,257,958 | +33.9 % |
| Export volume (tonnes) | 69.9 | 57.7 | −17.5 % |
| Export unit price (EUR/t) | 56,122 | 91,127 | +62.4 % |
Export volume shrank by 17.5 % even as export value rose by 33.9 %, implying a steep 62.4 % increase in unit export prices. This suggests EU exporters increasingly specialised in higher-quality or more processed silk waste yarn, commanding premium prices on international markets. The export propensity — exports as a share of domestic production — surged from 10.1 % to 159.9 %, confirming that the EU now exports more silk waste yarn by weight than it produces domestically, implying a significant re-export or tolling activity (importing raw yarn, adding value, and re-exporting).
Italy dominates both EU imports and exports
The member-state breakdown reveals that Italy is overwhelmingly the centre of gravity for this product in the EU:
| Member State | Role | 2015 (EUR) | 2025 (EUR) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Imports | 20,033,337 | 34,380,661 | +71.6 % |
| Italy | Exports | 3,720,365 | 4,541,409 | +22.1 % |
| Germany | Imports | 1,693,548 | 943,029 | −44.3 % |
| Germany | Exports | 29,628 | 482,182 | +1,527.5 % |
| France | Imports | 508,535 | 1,020,278 | +100.6 % |
| Romania | Imports | 815,924 | 531,818 | −34.8 % |
| Slovenia | Imports | 237,089 | 705,802 | +197.7 % |
Italy alone accounted for approximately 89.7 % of EU imports and 86.4 % of EU exports by value in 2025. This is consistent with Italy's historic specialisation in silk processing, centred in regions such as Como (Lombardy). In specialisation indices, Italy and Slovenia show the highest revealed symmetric comparative advantage (RSCA ≈ 0.80), while large economies like France (RSCA −1.00), Spain (−0.99), and Belgium (−0.96) show no specialisation whatsoever.
Germany presents an interesting case: its imports fell by 44.3 % while its exports surged by over 1,528 %, suggesting a growing role as a re-export or logistics hub, or a shift toward processing imported yarn and selling finished silk waste products abroad.
Export destinations shifted toward Turkey and China, away from the UK
The geographic composition of exports changed markedly:
- Türkiye became the largest single destination, growing from €793,000 to €2,030,000 (+156.1 %), reflecting Turkey's expanding textile manufacturing sector.
- China rose from €348,000 to €1,131,000 (+225.2 %), suggesting that some EU-origin silk waste yarn feeds back into Chinese processing chains.
- The United Kingdom fell from €1,166,000 to €336,000 (−71.2 %), likely reflecting post-Brexit trade frictions.
- Hong Kong also declined (−53.7 %), consistent with the broader trend of reduced trade through Hong Kong as a re-export hub.
On the export side, the HHI rose from 1,777 to 2,181 (+22.7 %), indicating that export destinations became slightly more concentrated over the period, partly driven by the growth of Türkiye and China as dominant buyers.
Conclusion
The EU market for silk waste yarn (CN 5005) between 2015 and 2025 underwent a fundamental structural shift. Domestic production collapsed by over 95 %, transforming the EU from a partially self-sufficient producer into an overwhelmingly import-dependent market (net import reliance approaching 90 %). This dependence is almost entirely channelled through China, which supplies over 90 % of imports by value — a concentration level that creates significant supply-chain vulnerability, as illustrated by the 2022 price shock.
At the same time, the EU's role has evolved: despite shrinking production, export values rose and export unit prices surged by over 62 %, suggesting a shift toward niche, high-value-added processing. Italy remains the undisputed hub of this trade, accounting for nearly 90 % of both imports and exports. The market is thus characterised by a paradox: a declining industrial base coexisting with growing trade volumes and rising unit values — a pattern consistent with the broader European textile industry's specialisation in luxury and quality-driven niches while offshoring commodity-scale production. Going forward, the key risk remains the EU's heavy reliance on a single supplier for a product whose domestic production base has all but disappeared.