Market evolution: Waste man-made staple fibres (CN 5505) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report analyses the European Union's trade in waste of man-made staple fibres (Combined Nomenclature code 5505) over the period 2015–2025. This product category includes waste of synthetic and artificial staple fibres, such as noils, yarn waste, and garnetted stock. The EU is a significant player in this market, acting as both a major importer and exporter. Over the decade, the market has undergone significant structural shifts, characterized by a decline in export performance, a transformation of import sources, and periods of high volatility and price shocks. This report examines the key dynamics in overall trade performance, geographical patterns, and market structure, based on the overall trade data.

1. Declining Export Performance and a Widening Trade Deficit

The EU's trade in CN 5505 between 2015 and 2025 was marked by a stark contrast between weakening exports and resilient imports, leading to a significant expansion of the trade deficit.

Export value and volume contracted significantly

The value of EU exports in waste man-made fibres fell by 50.4% over the period, from €13.8 million in 2015 to €6.9 million in 2025. While the exported quantity also declined by 15.6% (from 23,100 tonnes to 19,500 tonnes), the much steeper drop in value indicates a severe erosion of export prices, which fell by 41.2% from €599 per tonne to €352 per tonne. This suggests a loss of competitiveness or a shift towards lower-value waste streams in EU exports.

Import volumes grew despite price pressures

In contrast, EU imports grew steadily in volume, increasing by 34.5% from 33,436 tonnes in 2015 to 44,960 tonnes in 2025. The value of imports, however, remained nearly flat (up 0.9% to €28.7 million), reflecting a 24.9% decline in average import prices to €639 per tonne. The peak in both import value (€81.0 million) and quantity (64,463 tonnes) was reached in 2022, highlighting a period of intense demand and/or price inflation.

The trade deficit more than doubled

The combination of falling export revenues and stable import values resulted in a trade deficit that expanded from €14.6 million in 2015 to €21.9 million in 2025—a 49.5% deterioration. The deficit was most pronounced in 2022, reaching €61.3 million, driven by the surge in import values that year.

2. A Fundamental Re-orientation of EU Trade Geographies

The period 2015–2025 witnessed a major reconfiguration of the EU's trading partners for waste man-made fibres, with trade flows shifting from traditional Western partners towards new centres of demand and supply.

The EU became more reliant on a diverse set of import suppliers

The United States remained the EU's top import source by value in 2025, but its share fell by 40.7% from 2015 levels. More significantly, the EU's import structure became more diversified. Imports from Türkiye grew by 131.4% to €8.4 million, while those from India doubled (up 100.9% to €4.1 million) and imports from China surged by 654.9% to €2.3 million. Conversely, imports from Morocco collapsed by 87.1%. This diversification is confirmed by the decline in the import concentration index (HHI) from 1,904 to 1,618. The top import partners data clearly illustrates this shift.

EU exports consolidated on Türkiye as traditional partners declined

The geography of EU exports transformed even more dramatically. Exports to Türkiye, the top destination in 2025, grew by 40.8% to €2.5 million. However, exports to all other major partners in 2015 contracted severely: shipments to Morocco fell by 93.6%, to India by 75.2%, and to the United Kingdom by 70.9%. This consolidation is reflected in a stable but high export concentration HHI (around 1,841), indicating that while the partners changed, the market remained concentrated. The export partners data details this restructuring.

Specialization within the EU also shifted

At the EU member state level, trade specialization evolved. Belgium emerged as the most specialized exporter (with a Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) of 0.62), while Italy became the largest EU importer (up 71.1% to €10.0 million). Germany's role diminished sharply in both imports (-64.5%) and exports (-89.3%). The specialization data highlights these intra-EU changes.

3. Market Turbulence: High Volatility and Acute Price Shocks

The waste man-made fibres market exhibited significant instability, with high volatility in bilateral trade flows and several episodes of extreme price shocks, often linked to broader global disruptions.

Volatility was extreme for key and emerging partners

Trade flows with several partners were highly volatile, as measured by the coefficient of variation (CV). Import flows from China (CV=1.54) and Malaysia (CV=1.00) were exceptionally unstable. On the export side, trade with Malaysia (CV=2.63) and India (CV=1.11) was particularly erratic. This volatility underscores the sector's sensitivity to shifting global waste management regulations and textile industry cycles. The volatility analysis provides a detailed breakdown.

Notable price shocks occurred around 2021-2022

The data reveals several significant price shock events, likely coinciding with post-pandemic supply chain disruptions and the energy crisis. In 2022, the price of imports from Malaysia spiked abnormally (abnormality score: 13.8, shift: +67.2%), and the price of exports to Canada also surged (abnormality: 11.8, shift: +42.5%). An earlier shock was detected in 2021 for imports from India (abnormality: 8.8, shift: +109.0%). These events are documented in the shocks data.

The market is dominated by synthetic waste, but artificial waste shows unique volatility

The product breakdown shows that waste of synthetic staple fibres (CN 550510) constitutes the overwhelming majority of trade, accounting for over 99% of imports and 95% of exports by volume in 2025. The trade in artificial staple fibres waste (CN 550520), while smaller, exhibited its own distinct patterns and extreme price volatility (e.g., import prices swung from €113/t in 2024 to €972/t in 2022), as seen in the segment breakdown.

Conclusion

Over the 2015–2025 decade, the EU's market for waste man-made staple fibres transformed from one with a moderate trade deficit and established Western partnerships to a market with a larger deficit, diversified but volatile sourcing from Asia, and concentrated export demand from Türkiye. The period was characterized by declining export competitiveness, rising import dependency for volume, and significant market turbulence, including acute price shocks in the early 2020s. These trends reflect broader shifts in global textile waste flows, recycling capacities, and the impact of recent macroeconomic disruptions. Future market stability will depend on supply chain resilience, regulatory developments in waste management, and the ability of EU exporters to adapt to competitive pressures.