EU-28 technical textiles represent 15 per cent of the total textile employment, said Euratex in its 2016 annual report.The technical textile sector has registered positive economic and employment trends in EU. The size of technical textile companies is nearly twice that of the textile ones in terms of employment and 2.5 times the size in terms of turnover.

According to Euratex, EU countries are the main export destination markets for technical textiles, in particular for companies originating in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Hungary, Denmark, the Netherlands, Romania, Portugal and Poland (with Intra-EU shares above 71 per cent). The top five exporters of technical textiles (Germany, Italy, France, United Kingdom and Belgium) represented almost 60 per cent of total exports to the world from member states.

In the last 14 years, trade in technical textiles has expanded rapidly, doubling since 2003 to reach a total (imports + exports) of over €20 billion in 2016. This was divided equally between Extra-EU exports and Extra-EU imports. Despite the slowdown in 2016, EU imports have been more dynamic than exports over the period, states the report.