The exports of textiles and apparel from Spain increased by 8.9 percent year-on-year to €10.423 million in 2012, which is a new record, according to the latest data released by Consejo Intertextil Español (CIE or Spanish Intertextile Council).
The CIE figures vary a little from the figures released by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness last month, which pegged 2012 Spanish textile and apparel exports at €10.733 million, up 9.1 percent year-on-year.
According to the CIE, Spanish textile and garment imports fell 7.8 percent year-on-year and the trade deficit declined by 39 percent to €3,100 million last year.
The organization attributed the decline in trade deficit to more dynamic export markets coupled with weak demand in Spanish domestic market.
Apparel exports constituted more than two-thirds of total Spanish textile and garment exports, and they increased by more than 13 percent year-on-year.
France, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, Germany and the UK were the main consumers of Spanish textiles and apparels, accounting for nearly half of the total exports in 2012.
Over 65 percent of Spanish textile and apparel exports were destined to various European countries. In 2012, Spanish textile and clothing exports to North America, Russia, Asia and Latin America grew by 24 percent year-on-year, 19 percent y-o-y, 17 percent y-o-y and 15 percent y-o-y, respectively.
China, Bangladesh, Italy, Turkey and Morocco together supplied nearly 60 percent of all textile and apparel imports made by Spain last year.
CIE is composed of seven textile and apparel associations and is the nodal agency as well as the largest independent representative of the textile industry in Spain. It represents more than 9,000 companies in the field of textiles and clothing that directly employ around 140,000 people, with annual sales of around €11,000 million.
