Market evolution: Women's knitted underwear and nightwear (CN 6108) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of EU trade in CN 6108 — women's or girls' knitted underwear, nightwear, and related garments (briefs, panties, slips, nightdresses, pyjamas, bathrobes, dressing gowns, and similar articles) — over the period 2015 to 2025. The product scope covers eleven six-digit sub-headings encompassing both intimate apparel and loungewear in all fibre types.

Over the eleven-year window, the EU's external trade in this product category has been shaped by three interconnected dynamics: a structural widening of the trade deficit driven by a sharp decline in domestic production; a significant reorientation of sourcing away from China towards Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka; and pronounced price volatility linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 energy and logistics crises. EU imports grew from €1.82 billion in 2015 to €2.33 billion in 2025 (+28.2%), while exports rose more modestly from €279 million to €340 million (+22.0%), deepening the trade balance deficit from –€1.54 billion to –€1.99 billion. Net import reliance nearly doubled, rising from 43.8% to 82.8%.

1. A Widening Trade Deficit Fueled by Collapsing Domestic Production

EU production of women's knitted underwear and nightwear fell by roughly two-thirds over the decade

The most striking structural development in this market is the collapse of EU production. Output measured in items fell from 573 million pieces in 2015 to 193 million in 2025, a decline of 66.3%. In value terms, production contracted from €1.10 billion to €376 million (–65.9%). This indicates that the EU has lost not just volume but also higher-value production capacity in this category over the period.

Import volumes surged while export volumes stagnated

Against this backdrop of declining domestic output, EU imports expanded substantially. Import weight rose from 109,455 tonnes to 142,583 tonnes (+30.3%), and the item count grew from 1.16 billion to 1.58 billion pieces (+36.5%). By contrast, EU exports were essentially flat by weight (8,485t to 8,419t, –0.8%) and grew only modestly in item count (107 million to 113 million, +5.2%). The trade deficit thus widened by 29.3% in nominal terms.

Import prices fell in real terms, confirming the cost-driven nature of sourcing shifts

Despite rising import values, the average unit price of imports by weight actually declined slightly over the period (from €16,606/t to €16,338/t, –1.6%), and by item from €1.57 to €1.46 (–6.9%). This confirms that the growth in import value was driven predominantly by higher volumes rather than price inflation — a pattern consistent with a shift toward lower-cost sourcing origins.

Export prices, by contrast, rose: from €32,845/t to €40,379/t (+22.9%) and from €2.60 to €3.01 per item (+16.0%). This divergence suggests that the EU's remaining export activity is increasingly concentrated in higher-value segments.

Poland and the Netherlands emerged as major importing hubs within the EU

Among EU member states, the distribution of extra-EU imports shifted notably. Germany remained the largest importer (€394M → €404M, +2.5%), but the most dramatic growth occurred in Poland (from €31M to €186M, +493.3%) and Spain (€168M to €258M, +53.7%). The Netherlands also grew strongly (€277M to €378M, +36.5%). Belgium, by contrast, saw its extra-EU imports decline from €92M to €54M (–41.6%).

2. The Quiet Reshuffling of Sourcing: Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka Gain Ground

China remains the largest supplier but its share is eroding

China was the EU's largest import partner throughout the period, with imports valued at €806 million in 2015. By 2025, however, this had declined slightly to €774 million (–4.1%), after peaking at €982 million in 2022. The decline occurred in a context of overall rising EU imports, indicating a clear loss of market share for China.

Bangladesh doubled its exports to the EU and became the second-largest supplier

The most significant sourcing shift involved Bangladesh, which grew from €239 million to €600 million (+150.8%), overtaking India and firmly establishing itself as the EU's second-largest supplier. Cambodia also experienced remarkable growth, more than tripling from €36 million to €107 million (+195.0%), while Sri Lanka grew from €107 million to €167 million (+57.0%).

Brexit caused a structural break in EU–UK trade flows in both directions

The United Kingdom's departure from the EU single market is clearly visible in the data. EU imports from the UK collapsed from €72 million in 2015 to €17 million in 2025 (–76.9%), with the sharpest drop occurring between 2020 and 2021 — the period when the Trade and Cooperation Agreement took effect. The coefficient of variation for UK import flows (1.10) is by far the highest of any partner, reflecting this structural disruption. On the export side, the UK remained the EU's largest extra-EU export destination (€55M in 2025), though exports also declined from €69M in 2015 (–21.0%).

Import concentration decreased as sourcing diversified away from China

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for EU imports by value fell from 2,325 to 1,978 (–14.9%), indicating a meaningful reduction in supplier concentration. While the import market remains moderately concentrated (China alone still accounts for roughly one-third of import value), the rapid growth of Bangladesh and Cambodia is clearly diversifying the sourcing base. Export concentration also declined, with the HHI falling from 1,422 to 1,145 (–19.5%).

Within the EU, the Netherlands and Italy are the main re-exporters, while Poland has a revealed comparative advantage

In 2025, EU export specialisation was strongest in Croatia (RSCA: 0.45), Poland (RSCA: 0.30), and Bulgaria (RSCA: 0.21). The Netherlands (RSCA: 0.15) is notable for combining a large absolute export volume (€27M) with a positive specialisation index, reflecting its role as a logistics and distribution hub. Italy was the EU's largest individual exporter at €77M (+88.1% vs. 2015), followed by Germany at €68M.

3. Price Spikes, Pandemic Shocks, and the Man-Made Fibre Surge

The 2020 pandemic caused a sharp import dip, followed by an unprecedented 2022 surge

EU imports of CN 6108 followed a distinctive boom–bust–boom pattern across the period. After relatively stable imports around €1.8–2.0 billion through 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a dip to €1.66 billion in 2020 (the period minimum). This was followed by a dramatic rebound to a peak of €2.72 billion in 2022 — a 63.3% increase from the 2020 trough — before a correction to €2.33 billion by 2025.

The 2022 price spike was most severe for Bangladesh and India

The shock detection analysis identifies three major abnormal events centred on 2022:

The Bangladesh import price shock is by far the largest, with an abnormality score of 68.1 — reflecting the combination of surging cotton and energy costs, post-pandemic logistics bottlenecks, and strong demand recovery. The Russia export price shock in 2022 (abnormality 18.2, +52.4%) is likely linked to the sanctions regime and reorientation of trade flows following the invasion of Ukraine.

Nightwear in man-made fibres was the fastest-growing import sub-segment

A closer look at the product segment breakdown reveals a pronounced shift within the product mix. The fastest-growing import sub-segment was CN 610832 (women's nightdresses and pyjamas of man-made fibres), where import volumes surged from 10,965 tonnes to 30,799 tonnes (+181%) and import values grew from €142 million to €338 million (+138%). By contrast, the traditionally dominant briefs and panties segments (CN 610821 in cotton and CN 610822 in man-made fibres) grew more moderately.

The explosive growth of the man-made nightwear segment reflects broader consumer trends toward synthetic and blended fabrics in sleepwear, as well as the cost advantages of polyester-based production in Asian sourcing countries.

Supply volatility was highest for emerging and geopolitically sensitive partners

The coefficient of variation analysis reveals that import flows from certain origins are considerably more volatile than others. Myanmar (CV: 0.42), Cambodia (0.35), and Bangladesh (0.25) all exhibit above-average volatility, reflecting the emerging-market nature of their garment sectors and their susceptibility to political, logistical, and compliance-related disruptions. By contrast, China (0.12), India (0.10), and Türkiye (0.12) show the most stable trade flows, consistent with their more mature export infrastructure.

EU net import reliance nearly doubled, signalling growing external dependency

Perhaps the most consequential indicator is the net import reliance, which rose from 43.8% in 2015 to 82.8% in 2025 — an increase of 89.3%. This metric, which captures the share of apparent consumption supplied by imports, nearly doubled over the decade. Combined with a trade intensity that rose from 65.8% to 99.2% and an export propensity that surged from 29.2% to 94.3%, these figures paint a picture of a market that has become overwhelmingly dependent on extra-EU supply chains.

Conclusion

The EU market for women's knitted underwear and nightwear (CN 6108) underwent a profound structural transformation between 2015 and 2025. Domestic production contracted by roughly two-thirds, while import dependence nearly doubled to 82.8% of apparent consumption. This transformation was driven by cost-based sourcing decisions that shifted orders from China — whose EU-bound exports stagnated — toward Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka, all of which more than doubled their shipments to the EU over the decade.

The period was punctuated by two major disruptions: the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which temporarily depressed imports, and the 2022 supply chain and energy crisis, which caused a sharp price spike — particularly for Bangladeshi and Indian suppliers. The structural break caused by Brexit further reshaped EU–UK trade flows in both directions.

Within the product mix, the most notable trend was the rapid growth of man-made-fibre nightwear (CN 610832), whose import volumes nearly tripled. Meanwhile, the EU's remaining exports increasingly shifted toward higher unit values, and Italy consolidated its position as the bloc's leading exporter of this product category.

The combination of declining production capacity, rising import dependence, and moderate-to-high supply volatility from key sourcing countries raises questions about the EU's strategic exposure in this essential consumer goods category. The diversification away from China is underway but has concentrated supply risk in a small number of South and Southeast Asian economies that face their own structural vulnerabilities.