Slightly more than half of the import of cotton t-shirts and singlets is available for the Dutch market. The remaining part is re-exported. The Netherlands itself however barely produces cotton. Throughout 2017, 129 million t-shirts were available for the Dutch market, with an average of almost eight per resident. In 1998, it was still four per resident, reports Statistics Netherlands based on a research into the international clothing trade.In 2017, the Netherlands imported 91 million t-shirts directly from Bangladesh, which makes the South Asian country the most important supplier of cotton t-shirts.

Over the past 20 years, the price of t-shirts from Bangladesh has risen by 60 euro cents, while the average import price of a shirt in 2018 was about 20 cents higher than in 1998. In 2018, the average import price per t-shirt is more than three euros, while t-shirts produced in Bangladesh are about two euros, the report says.In addition to Bangladesh, which is an important supplier for T-shirts, China is the most important supplier of clothing the Netherlands, the trade includes sweaters, dresses and coats. In 2017, the Netherlands imported 1.9 billion euros worth of clothing from China, followed by Bangladesh with 1 billion euros worth of clothing.In total, 7.6 billion euros worth of clothing was imported into the Netherlands between January to August 2018, which is an increase of 8 percent compared to the same period last year.