Slump In Clothing Sales To EU Since Brexit As Exporters Deterred - Study

UK exports of clothing and footwear to the EU have dived since Brexit, according to a new study that shows the extent to which complex regulations and red tape at the border have deterred companies from sending goods across the channel.

- Phillip Inman

Exports of clothing and footwear sold to EU countries fell from £7.4bn in 2019 to just £2.7bn in 2023, leading to a 18% slump in sales of all non-food goods exports to countries covered by the EU single market, according to the consultancy Retail Economics.

The report said the decline meant British brands and retailers have seen sales to the EU plummet by £5.9bn since Brexit, despite a flourishing European e-commerce market.

Only the health and beauty and DIY and gardening sectors increased export sales over the same period, offsetting some of the fall from clothing and footwear. Many of the worst affected were small and medium-sized businesses, which faced a larger relative burden from red tape than multinational firms.

One of the report's authors, Richard Lim, the chief executive of Retail Economics, said some of the fall was simply down to a change in trade routes. UK firms that previously repackaged imports of goods made in the far east for sale in the EU have now reorganised their supply chains, by setting up offices inside the single market to bypass border regulations.