Market evolution: Skis (CN 950611) — 2015–2025

Introduction

The EU is a major global player in the winter sports ski market, both as a producer and as a net exporter. This report examines the evolution of EU trade in skis for winter sports (Customs code 950611) between 2015 and 2025, covering cross-country skis, downhill skis, monoskis, snowboards, and other snow-skis. Over the decade, the sector experienced significant structural transformation: declining production volumes, sharply rising unit prices, a resilient but evolving export profile, and notable disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical events. Three main dynamics emerge from the data and structure the analysis below.

1. Declining Volumes, Rising Values: A Price-Driven Market

Export and import volumes both contracted while trade values expanded

The central trend of the 2015–2025 period is a striking divergence between physical trade volumes and monetary values. EU exports to non-EU countries rose in value from €248.4 million to €300.4 million (+20.9%), yet the volume shipped fell from 7,155 tonnes to 6,303 tonnes (−11.9%). Average export unit prices consequently climbed from €34,716 to €47,651 per tonne (+37.3%). The General Overview shows the pattern was even more pronounced on the import side: import values grew from €82.5 million to €103.6 million (+25.6%), while volumes fell from 3,658 tonnes to 2,851 tonnes (−22.1%), driving the average import price from €22,541 to €36,339 per tonne (+61.2%).

Price escalation was broad-based across all ski sub-segments

The price increase affected every sub-category of CN 950611, though to varying degrees. The table below summarises export unit values (EUR per tonne) by segment:

(Source: Product Segment Breakdown)

"Other snow-skis" saw the steepest relative price growth (nearly tripling), followed by monoskis and snowboards (almost doubling). Downhill skis — the dominant segment by volume, accounting for roughly 84% of export tonnage in 2025 — showed the most moderate increase. Import prices followed a similar trajectory: cross-country ski import prices rose from €18,752 to €45,067 per tonne (+140%), while other snow-skis grew from €34,988 to €83,377 per tonne (+138%).

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp but temporary volume collapse

The pandemic disrupted both supply and demand. EU export volumes dropped to a decade-low of 5,923 tonnes in 2020, while import volumes hit their trough one year later in 2021 at just 1,801 tonnes — reflecting ski-resort closures and supply-chain disruptions that lagged on the import side. Despite the collapse, export values held relatively firm at €227.7 million in 2020 (the decade's minimum, but only 9% below 2019 levels) thanks to the rising price environment. A strong recovery followed in 2022, with export values reaching a peak of €374.8 million before moderating in subsequent years.

2. A Resilient Net Exporter with Evolving Trade Partners

The EU maintained a growing trade surplus throughout the decade

The EU was a consistent net exporter of skis over the entire period. The trade surplus grew from €165.9 million in 2015 to €196.8 million in 2025 (+18.6%), peaking at €254.8 million in 2022. The EU's net import reliance remained deeply negative throughout (ranging from −44.2% to −83.5%), consistently indicating that the EU exports far more than it imports.

Austria anchored EU ski exports, but other members gained ground

Austria was by far the EU's leading ski exporter, shipping €137.2 million worth of skis to non-EU countries in 2025 (45.7% of total EU exports), up from €115.5 million in 2015. Austria's Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) of 0.83 and its 36% share of EU production confirm its dominant role. Several other EU countries also strengthened their export positions:

(Source: Top reporters by value)

Sweden's exports grew over sixfold from a small base, while Italy posted robust growth of 42.5%, consolidating its fourth-place position. On the import side, Austria and Germany also dominated incoming trade, together absorbing over 74% of EU ski imports by 2025.

Export destinations remained concentrated in mature winter sports markets

The United States was the EU's single largest export market throughout the period, absorbing €104.5 million in 2025 (up from €88.7 million in 2015, +17.9%). Switzerland and Canada followed as the second and third-largest markets. Notably, exports to China nearly doubled from €4.7 million to €9.4 million (+97.9%), a trend likely amplified by the country's growing interest in winter sports ahead of and following the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. By contrast, exports to Japan declined by 28.2%, from €22.4 million to €16.1 million. The export concentration HHI remained relatively stable (1,951 to 1,960), indicating a moderately concentrated but broadly diversified export portfolio.

Ukraine emerged as the EU's primary import source, overtaking China

On the import side, the most striking development was Ukraine's rise to become the EU's top ski supplier. Ukrainian imports grew from €29.4 million in 2015 to €39.7 million in 2025 (+34.6%), surpassing China (€24.2 million, −6.4%). Switzerland also saw dramatic import growth of 125.2%, rising from €8.4 million to €19.0 million — suggesting increased integration of Swiss production into EU supply chains. Import concentration remained moderate (HHI ~2,470), somewhat more concentrated than the export side.

(Source: Top partners by value)

3. Structural Transformation: Shrinking Production and Growing Trade Openness

EU production volumes declined by nearly half

The most consequential structural shift was the steep decline in EU domestic production. According to PRODCOM data, EU ski production fell from 8.22 million pairs in 2015 to 4.40 million pairs in 2025 — a contraction of 46.5%. Production value declined from €687.6 million to €500.0 million (−27.3%). The smaller decline in value relative to volume confirms that average production values per pair rose significantly, consistent with the trade price increases observed elsewhere. The production volumes data reveal that the steepest drop occurred between 2019 and 2021, likely reflecting pandemic-related disruptions layered onto a longer-term trend toward industry consolidation.

Trade intensity and export propensity both increased substantially

Despite declining production, the EU's ski sector became more globally oriented. Trade intensity — the ratio of exports to production value — rose from 51.0% in 2015 to 68.1% in 2025 (+33.7%), meaning that a growing share of EU-produced skis was directed to non-EU markets. Similarly, export propensity grew from 47.1% to 61.2% (+30.0%). European ski manufacturers increasingly oriented production toward higher-value export markets.

Supply chain volatility varied sharply by partner country

The volatility analysis reveals substantial differences in trade stability across partners:

Imports from Russia and the UK showed the highest volatility (CV of 0.76 and 0.73 respectively), reflecting the impact of sanctions following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and post-Brexit trade friction. On the export side, shipments to Ukraine displayed extreme volatility (CV of 0.97), while exports to the two largest markets — the US and Switzerland — remained comparatively stable (CV of 0.18 and 0.11). This indicates that the EU's core export relationships have been resilient, while more peripheral or geopolitically exposed markets experienced greater disruption.

Conclusion

Over the 2015–2025 period, the EU's ski trade for CN 950611 was defined by a fundamental tension: sharply declining production and physical trade volumes, coupled with rising unit prices and growing total trade values. The EU consolidated its position as a net exporter, anchored by Austria, with a surplus that grew from €165.9 million to €196.8 million. At the same time, the industry underwent significant structural change — production nearly halved, trade intensity rose markedly, and the export portfolio shifted toward higher-priced products. Key risks ahead include the sector's increasing reliance on fewer production sites, the volatility of certain trade corridors (notably with Russia and the UK), and the potential long-term impact of climate change on snow-reliant winter sports demand. The data suggests that the European ski industry is transitioning toward a more trade-intensive, higher-value, lower-volume model — one that may prove resilient if global demand for premium winter sports equipment continues to grow, but that carries inherent vulnerabilities if domestic production capacity continues to erode.