In the first two months of 2010, imports
continued to decline-by 11.3% in value and 1.5% in volume-compared with
the corresponding period a year earlier. However, the drop was due
almost entirely to a fall in clothing imports, amounting to 14.4% in
value and 9.4% in volume. Textile imports were down by a marginal 0.3%
in value but rose by 5.2% in volume”.The average price of textile
and clothing imports rose in 2009. However, the rise was due entirely to
an increase in the price of clothing imports as the price of textile
imports fell. Some suppliers increased their prices in order to maintain
revenues in the face of falling sales volumes as the global financial
crisis took hold. However, many suppliers have been moving to higher
value products ..Seven of the ten largest textile and clothing
suppliers to the EU raised their prices in 2009. Among these, the
industry in Vietnam continued to increase its prices significantly after
cutting them in 2006 ..There was also a substantial rise in the
average price of imports from Bangladesh. During the first two months of
2010, however, nine of the top ten suppliers cut their prices as they
attempted to maintain sales volumes. The one exception was Tunisia .

Date:6/29/2010

Source:U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)