-  39  -

linkages. But this conclusion is tentative at best. This share is significantly lower than in Romanian TC chain (67 percent in 2002), although in the latter it has been on the decline. The increase in the share of textiles in TC exports, which, after the contraction from 16 percent in 1996 to 8 percent in 2000, strongly rebounded to 12 percent in 2003, suggests the availability of high quality fabrics in Bulgaria. Last but not least, imported fabrics may be used for producing more processed fabrics for exports.

**Table 28:** _Trade with the EU in ‘buyer-driven’ chains in 1996-2003 (in millions of US dollars and percent)_

|Product(SITC Revision 2)|1996|1997|1998|1999|2000|2001|2002|.<br>2003|Change<br>2003<br>over 2001|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A. Textiles and Clothing (SITC 65+8998 and 84):**||||||||||
|Total exports of Textiles & Clothing ($ million)|471|557|686|697|793|997|993|1,309|31%|
|Share of textiles in total T&C exports (%)|15.5|14.4|12.8|9.8|8.0|8.7|12.2|12.0|38%|
|Imports of textiles ($ million)|236|282|321|339|395|497|548|726|46%|
|Share of textiles in imports of T&C (%)|72|69.9|67.5|68.5|68.1|68.5|65.8|66.0|-4%|
|<br>Imports of textiles as % of exports of T&C (%)|50.2|50.6|46.8|48.7|49.7|49.8|55.2|**55.4**|11%|
|**_Memo Items:_**||||||||||
|Share of T&C in Bulgaria's total exports (%)|21.4|23.1|27.0|29.3|27.9|32.0|30.2|30.5|-5%|
|Share of EU in Bulgaria's total T&C exports (%)|79.2|78.1|80.5|81.4|80.3|79.1|76.9|76.7|-3%|
|Share in EU external imports of T&C (%)|0.74|0.84|0.98|1.01|1.14|1.41|1.35|1.49|6%|
|of which: textiles|0.12|0.12|0.13|0.10|0.09|0.12|0.16|0.18|46%|
|Clothing|0.63|0.72|0.86|0.91|1.05|1.29|1.18|1.31|2%|
|**B. Footwear and parts (SITC 85 and 6123)**||||||||||
|Total exports of Footwear & Parts ($ million)|103|128|121|111|116|161|172|222|38%|
|Share of parts in total footwear & parts exports (%)|41.3|39.4|37.7|38.8|43|43.1|48.9|45.4|5%|
|Imports of footwear parts ($ million)|36.0|39.6|37.5|39.6|43.4|61.2|56.9|75.0|23%|
|Share of parts in imports of footwear & parts (%)|76.2|74.5|74.4|80.4|85.7|89|87.5|87.3|-2%|
|<br>Imports of parts as % of exports of footwear & parts (%)|35.0|31.1|31.1|35.9|37.6|**38**|33.1|33.8|-11%|
|**_Memo Items:_**||||||||||
|Share of footwear & parts in Bulgaria's total exports (%)|4.7|5.3|4.8|4.6|4.1|5.2|5.2|5.2|0%|
|Share of EU in Bulgaria's exports of footwear & parts (%)|92.9|91.8|91.5|93.6|92.4|90.7|88.1|90.2|-1%|
|Share in EU external imports of footwear & parts (in %)|1.28|1.45|1.40|1.22|1.22|1.55|1.56|1.68|8%|
|of which: parts|0.53|0.57|0.53|0.47|0.52|0.67|0.76|0.76|14%|
|Footwear|0.75|0.88|0.87|0.74|0.69|0.88|0.79|0.92|4%|
|**C. Furniture and parts**||||||||||
|Total exports of Furniture & Parts ($ million)|28.7|30.8|32.8|44.3|47.5|53.8|71.4|100.4|86%|
|Share of parts in total furniture & parts exports (%)|18.0|19.6|21.5|25.7|25.6|23.8|23.8|27.5|16%|
|Imports of furniture parts ($ million)|5.9|5.6|7.4|7.6|6.1|7.8|7.9|11.9|54%|
|Share of parts in imports of furniture & parts (%)|20.7|22.9|26.1|28.2|22.3|27.0|26.6|29.9|11%|
|Imports of parts as % of exports of furniture & parts (%)|20.7|18.1|**22.6**|17.0|12.8|14.4|11.0|11.9|-18%|
|**_Memo Items:_**||||||||||
|Share of furniture & parts in Bulgaria's total exports (%)|1.30|1.28|1.29|1.86|1.67|1.73|2.17|2.34|36%|
|Share of EU in Bulgaria's exports of furniture & parts (%)|76.7|78.2|75.3|73.7|69.3|72.8|69.7|69.7|-4%|
|<br>Share in EU external imports of furniture & parts (in %)|0.41|0.42|0.38|0.45|0.45|0.49|0.58|0.61|27%|
|<br>of which: parts|0.07|0.08|0.08|0.12|0.12|0.12|0.14|0.17|46%|
|<br>finalproducts|0.34|0.33|0.30|0.34|0.33|0.37|0.44|0.45|20%|
|**D. Total 'Buyer-Driven' value chains**||||||||||
|Share of above exports in Bulgaria's total exports (%)|27.4|29.7|33.1|35.8|33.7|38.9|37.6|38.0|-2%|
|<br>Share of EU exports of chains' products and parts (%)|81.1|80.3|81.7|82.4|81|80.2|77.8|77.8|-3%|
|<br>Share in EU external imports of furniture & parts (in %)|0.77|0.87|0.97|0.97|1.06|<br>1.31|<br>1.27|<br>1.39|<br>6%|
|of which: parts|0.15|0.17|0.16|0.14|0.14|0.18|0.23|0.24|33%|
|finalproducts|0.61|0.70|0.80|0.83|0.92|1.13|1.04|1.14|1%|

Source: Computations based on UN COMTRADE Statistics.

As for footwear and furniture, the ratio of imported parts to total exports of footwear chain products fell from 38 percent in 2000-01 to 34 percent in 2003 and in exports of furniture from 23 percent in 1998 to 12 percent in 2003. Since in both networks this was accompanied by a quicker growth in exports of parts than of final products, this suggests that Bulgarian producers of are firmly embedded in EU-driven footwear and furniture chains. This also may suggest the