COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN BULGARIA AFTER THE EU ACCESSION AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the changes in Bulgaria’s competitiveness in the textile and clothing (T&C) industry after the European Union accession and in times of the coronavirus pandemic covering the period 2007-2020. In methodological terms the study uses various indicators inclu...

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Main Author: P. Zhelev
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Trakia University 2021-11-01
Series:Trakia Journal of Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://tru.uni-sz.bg/tsj/Volume%2019,%202021,%20Supplement%201,%20Series%20Social%20Sciences/2%20sekcia/formatirani/13.pdf
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author P. Zhelev
author_facet P. Zhelev
author_sort P. Zhelev
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of this paper is to analyse the changes in Bulgaria’s competitiveness in the textile and clothing (T&C) industry after the European Union accession and in times of the coronavirus pandemic covering the period 2007-2020. In methodological terms the study uses various indicators including production value, employment, labour productivity, relative trade balance, revealed comparative advantage index, among others. Wherever possible the analysis is done in a comparative perspective benchmarking the performance of the sector in Bulgaria with that in Romania. The results show that the Bulgarian T&C industry has undergone a significant transformation in the last two decades increasing its productivity but being subject to significant jobs downsizing. While still competitive on the European market, with rising wages and production costs, the comparative advantages of the industry are gradually eroding. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the apparel subsector very hard while some textile producers which managed to shift their production to personal protective equipment items managed it successfully. However, this is a temporary solution. The T&C industry in Bulgaria is confronted with significant long-term challenges such as the green and the digital transformation, and the how it deals with them will determine the prospects of the sector.
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spelling doaj-art-71e9aec7e8164b58b78f0b55e24f64042025-08-20T02:54:53ZengTrakia UniversityTrakia Journal of Sciences1313-35512021-11-0119Suppl. 1899810.15547/tjs.2021.s.01.013COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN BULGARIA AFTER THE EU ACCESSION AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMICP. ZhelevThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the changes in Bulgaria’s competitiveness in the textile and clothing (T&C) industry after the European Union accession and in times of the coronavirus pandemic covering the period 2007-2020. In methodological terms the study uses various indicators including production value, employment, labour productivity, relative trade balance, revealed comparative advantage index, among others. Wherever possible the analysis is done in a comparative perspective benchmarking the performance of the sector in Bulgaria with that in Romania. The results show that the Bulgarian T&C industry has undergone a significant transformation in the last two decades increasing its productivity but being subject to significant jobs downsizing. While still competitive on the European market, with rising wages and production costs, the comparative advantages of the industry are gradually eroding. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the apparel subsector very hard while some textile producers which managed to shift their production to personal protective equipment items managed it successfully. However, this is a temporary solution. The T&C industry in Bulgaria is confronted with significant long-term challenges such as the green and the digital transformation, and the how it deals with them will determine the prospects of the sector.http://tru.uni-sz.bg/tsj/Volume%2019,%202021,%20Supplement%201,%20Series%20Social%20Sciences/2%20sekcia/formatirani/13.pdftextiles and apparel industrycomparative advantagestrade balance
spellingShingle P. Zhelev
COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN BULGARIA AFTER THE EU ACCESSION AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Trakia Journal of Sciences
textiles and apparel industry
comparative advantages
trade balance
title COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN BULGARIA AFTER THE EU ACCESSION AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC
title_full COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN BULGARIA AFTER THE EU ACCESSION AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC
title_fullStr COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN BULGARIA AFTER THE EU ACCESSION AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC
title_full_unstemmed COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN BULGARIA AFTER THE EU ACCESSION AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC
title_short COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN BULGARIA AFTER THE EU ACCESSION AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC
title_sort competitiveness of the textile and clothing industry in bulgaria after the eu accession and in times of covid 19 pandemic
topic textiles and apparel industry
comparative advantages
trade balance
url http://tru.uni-sz.bg/tsj/Volume%2019,%202021,%20Supplement%201,%20Series%20Social%20Sciences/2%20sekcia/formatirani/13.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT pzhelev competitivenessofthetextileandclothingindustryinbulgariaaftertheeuaccessionandintimesofcovid19pandemic