Casablanca – A new report shows that Moroccan clothing exports to the European Union (EU) climbed by 33.4% in the first half of 2022, reaching 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion).
The report, published by the Euro-Mediterranean Circle of Textiles, Clothing, and Fashion Leaders (CEDITH), indicates that Morocco is now the eighth provider in this sector, compared to the same period last year when it ranked in 7th place.
With a 3.5% market share, adds the report, Morocco has retained its place alongside the Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC) as the EU’s second clothing supplier, behind Turkey but ahead of Tunisia, with 1.12 billion euros ($1.13 billion) at the end of June, up 23.5%.
Meanwhile, data showed clothing imports from the European Union increased by 37.3% totaling 43.54 billion euros ($43.71 billion) in the first half of this year.
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In addition to the growing exports, Morocco’s average costs in the clothing industry have risen by nearly 14% in a year, ranking sixth among the EU’s top ten suppliers behind Bangladesh (+23.4%), China (+19.5%), Cambodia (14.6%), Vietnam (14.2%), and Pakistan (14.1%), the report revealed.
“All major suppliers recorded strong increases, with Bangladesh taking the lead with 59.5%,” said Jean-Francois Limantour, President of CEDITH.
According to the CEDITH’s report, Bangladesh’s rapid growth (10.36 billion euros ($10.39 billion) in exports and a share of 23.8%) enables the South Asian country to compete directly with China, the EU’s top clothes exporter, with 11.13 billion euros ($11.16 billion) recorded at the end of June (+33.7%), or a share of 25.6%.
Meanwhile, Turkey, a steady third supplier of clothes to the EU, keeps its place in the top three — with 5.57 billion euros ($5.59 billion) (+32.5%) from the first half of 2022 and a 12.8% market share.
