2021 ‘one of the best years ever’ for textile, clothing exports
"Textile and clothing export data for 2021 should exceed €5.3 billion, one of the best years ever in terms of exports," the Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal (ATP) said in a statement.
2021 was “one of the best years ever” with €4.979 billion in textile and clothing exports by November, up 16.0% in 2020 and 2.8% higher than 2019, according to the sector association.
“Textile and clothing export data for 2021 should exceed €5.3 billion, one of the best years ever in terms of exports,” the Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal (ATP) said in a statement released Monday, based on data advanced by Statistics Portugal (INE).
According to the ATP, considering only last November, the country exported €503 million of textiles and clothing, a figure 16% higher than in 2019.
In the first 11 months of the year, the sector’s exports amount to €4.979 billion, exceeding the same period of 2019 by 2.8%, “mainly due to the good results of home textiles and knitted garments”.
Among these, the association highlights ‘bed, table, toilet or kitchen linen, of any textile material’, up €107.5 million (+23%), and ‘jumpers and pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles, knitted or crocheted’, up €103.4 million (+26%).
The ATP warns, however, that ‘not all activities were able to recover so well from the effects of the pandemic’, an example of this being woven clothing, which up to November records a drop of 21%, equivalent to a decrease of €192 million, compared to the same period of 2019.
In an analysis by export markets, until November and compared to 2019, France leads the list of destinations with the best performance, with an increase of €98 million (+15.9%), followed by the USA (up €93 million, equivalent to +29.8%) and Italy (increase of €47 million, or +15.6%).
On the contrary, Spain “continues to stand out for the worst results”, with a drop of €225 million (-15.0%).
In November, the textile and clothing trade balance recorded a balance of €1.166 billion, with a coverage rate of 131%.
Overall, according to preliminary data advanced on Monday by INE, compared to November 2019, the pre-pandemic period, exports increased by 15.1% and imports by 17.0%.
