Imports of home textiles by European buyers declined significantly in 2022, falling by 17.4% to $33.3 billion.
Exporters blame the increased interest rates and inflation for the decline, which has slowed down retail demand in wealthy nations.
Moreover, the Russia-Ukraine war raised crude oil prices, which fueled inflation worldwide, especially in the US and Europe.
Major brands cut back on their purchasing as a result of the war’s enormous impact on Europe’s retail sales.
Consumers’ discretionary spending on commodities like apparel, home textiles, and fashion is declining.
The subsequent decline in the years that followed was partly influenced by the spike in demand for household textiles during the pandemic.
According to TexPro data, European home textile imports nearly doubled to $61.375 billion in 2020 from $32.296 billion in 2019 but decreased to $40.408 billion in 2021. The import value further declined to $33.4 billion in 2022, reaching levels similar to pre-pandemic times.
The inbound shipment declined since Q4 2021 when it was noted at $10.069 billion. It came down to $9.147 billion in Q1 2022, $8.482 billion in Q2 2022, $8.038 billion in Q3 2022, and $7.709 billion in Q4, 2022, as per TexPro.
Bangladesh, one of the major home textile suppliers of the world, has been also limping for several months.
In the July-April period of FY2022-23, the sector saw a negative growth of 29.34% to $940.8 million from $1.33 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year, EPB data said.
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