Growing opportunities in Central Europe for apparel & textile sector

Potentially strong Polish and Czech markets

Poland was the only European country to achieve uninterrupted GDP growth from 2009 through 2013. But its pace of economic expansion slowed in 2012, and further moderated to 1.6 per cent last year, albeit far better than the EU’s overall performance. Poland has textile imports of $10443 million and India’s current exports is around $217 million. There is a substantial opportunity to increase exports to Poland.

Improving consumer and business confidence and flattening joblessness, started since the second half of 2013, will likely improve private consumption and investment. With an expected rebound in export demand from its European neighbors in the light of the gradually strengthening EU economy, the Polish economy is expected to see faster growth of 2.5 per cent in 2014.

Poland is now the sixth largest EU country in terms of size and population. It is also one of the most promising of the new member-States. Its economic growth is among the fastest in Europe with $40 million population and $514 billion GDP.

One of the key markets for the Indian textile sector in the EU region, Poland was the only European country to achieve uninterrupted GDP growth from 2009 through 2013.

Czech economic growth

The Czech economy is forecast to resume growth of 1.8 per cent in 2014. The country’s pace of recovery has been constrained by the sluggishness in the early aftermath of the European debt crisis. Consumer spending can pick up in view of the subsiding worries over climbing unemployment and further fiscal retrenchment, while exports are poised to revive slowly as demand from most of the country’s leading European trading partners strengthens.

In this scenario, global textile and apparel imports to the Czech Republic is around $2016 million. India’s current exports stand at $76 million which can improve substantially by increasing the market access.

The Czech Republic is a stable and prosperous market economy closely integrated with the EU, especially since the country’s EU accession in 2004. Import demand will grow with an average of 9.9 per cent per year to $267 billion in 2017, meaning that the country will take the 29th position on the global list of largest importers.

With 10 million population and $190 billion GDP, the country is one of the upcoming markets for the Indian textile sector in the Central EU region.