Overview of China’s Textile and Clothing Export

At the beginning of 2021, my country’s foreign trade exports achieved a good start, achieving rapid growth on the basis of a low base at the beginning of 2020. In the first two months of the beginning of the year, textile and apparel exports achieved rapid positive growth, with a cumulative increase of over 50% year-on-year, indicating that my country’s textile and apparel production and trade have fully recovered.

However, due to uncertainties about the timing and extent of the recovery in global consumer demand, the export of anti-epidemic materials that played a major role in driving growth in the early stage has gradually fallen, and the trend of pushing up growth only on a very low year-on-year base will not last for a long time. Therefore, it is expected that although exports will continue to grow in the second quarter of this year, the growth rate will return to normal levels.

　　 The increase in the price of raw materials has an adverse effect on the production layout of the enterprise. Since the beginning of the year, under the combined effect of domestic economic boost, international market demand recovery after the epidemic has eased, US monetary easing policy stimulus, soaring international crude oil prices, capital speculation, and other factors, the prices of textile raw materials have risen rapidly, and have been at a high level after the Spring Festival. For both domestic and foreign prices to rise.

For example, in February, the average domestic price of cotton increased by 18% and 3.6% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively, and the average price of imported cotton increased by 20.8% and 6.2% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively. The growth rates of chemical fiber and man-made fiber are also high. The average growth rate of viscose, polyester and spandex at the beginning of the year reached more than 30%. The soaring price of raw materials has led to further squeezing of corporate profits, which is detrimental to the start of production and export orders.

　　 Exchange rate fluctuations during the year will become the norm. In 2020, the renminbi will depreciate against the U.S. dollar and then rise, and its value will appreciate by 6.47% throughout the year. Since February 2021, the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar has depreciated slightly. At the end of February, the onshore and offshore RMB spot exchange rates against the US dollar closed at 6.4590 and 6.4780, respectively, representing an appreciation of 0.03% and a depreciation of 0.5% from the end of January.

The trend of two-way fluctuations is more obvious. According to expert analysis, factors affecting the appreciation and devaluation of the RMB exchange rate in 2021 will exist at the same time. The exchange rate of the renminbi against the US dollar has depreciated and risen, and two-way fluctuations near a reasonable equilibrium level may become normal.

Export volume exceeds the level of the same period in 2019

In the first two months of 2021, the growth of my country’s textile and apparel exports was mainly concentrated in February. Under the conditions of low base + market demand recovery + “in-situ Chinese New Year”, under the combined effect of non-stop work in many places during the Spring Festival, exports in that month achieved huge growth. The monthly growth rate of textiles, apparel, textiles, and clothing not only reached or nearly tripled compared with the same period last year, but also promoted the current month and cumulative exports to exceed the level of the same period in 2019.

Mei has become our largest export market for textiles

　　 After the Brexit, the United States gradually surpassed the European Union (27 countries) to become China’s largest export market for textiles and clothing. From January to February 2021, China’s exports to the top four export markets, the United States, the European Union, ASEAN, and Japan, reached 8.51 billion U.S. dollars, 7.57 billion U.S. dollars, 6.71 billion U.S. dollars, and 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, respectively. All achieved rapid growth, with an increase of 85.6% respectively. , 57.1%, 65.7% and 51.8%. Among them, exports of clothing to Europe, the United States and Japan, and yarn fabrics to ASEAN quickly recovered, exceeding the level of the same period in 2019.

　　 With the further relief of the global epidemic, the procurement strategies of the three major markets in Europe, America and Japan have gradually returned to the track before the epidemic, and the market share of Chinese products has fallen from a high point. In December 2020, China’s textile and clothing market accounted for 34.7% of the EU market, a drop of 32.6 percentage points from the high point in May of that year. In January 2021, China’s share of the US market was 32.9%. A drop of 27.5 percentage points, accounting for 58% of the Japanese market, and a drop of 16 percentage points at a higher point.

Achieving recovery growth in bulk commodity exports

Driven by the low base number and the anti-epidemic materials, from January to February this year, textile and clothing exports achieved a recovery growth of 60.3% and 49.8% year-on-year, respectively. Traditional bulk commodity yarns, fabrics, finished products and knitted garments The export growth rate reached 27.4%, 38.2%, 99% and 39.5% respectively.

According to China Customs HS 6-digit statistics (with a slightly larger caliber), the export value of medical masks and medical protective clothing as the main anti-epidemic materials reached a peak in May 2020 and then fell month by month, but the export scale is still at a relatively high level. In February, the total export of medical masks and medical protective clothing was US$5.54 billion, accounting for 11.7% of the total export, which played a 6.4 percentage point boost to the overall export increase.

The growth rate of textile and apparel exports in the central and western regions ranks among the top

　　 From January to February, exports across the country, except Tibet and Xinjiang, achieved growth, and there were 20 provinces (cities, districts) with an increase of more than 50%. The performance of the central and western regions was even more outstanding. The export growth rates of Hubei, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Anhui, Yunnan and other provinces all more than doubled. The total increase of the 6 provinces in the central region was 103%, and the total growth of the 12 provinces in the western region was 55%, exceeding the national average.

The overall growth of imports driven by clothing

　　 Textile and apparel imports stopped falling and turned up. From January to February, the cumulative import value of textiles and clothing increased by 8.2% year-on-year, mainly driven by clothing. The cumulative increase in clothing was 50.4%, of which knitted and woven clothing totaled 37.8%. Imports of intermediate products have not yet resumed growth. The overall import of textiles fell by 13.8%, of which yarns increased by 24.6% driven by price increases, fabrics still fell by 1.7%, and manufactured products fell by 50.7%.

Cotton imports continue to grow rapidly

　　 Entering 2021, cotton imports continued the growth trend at the end of last year, with a total of 690,000 tons imported in the first two months, an increase of 67.5% year-on-year. The United States is the largest source of imports, with a total of 298,000 tons of imports from the United States, an increase of more than three times, and the proportion of U.S. cotton is as high as 43%.

　　 The China Cotton Association analyzed that in February, driven by factors such as improved control of the epidemic at home and abroad and strong inflation expectations, the commodity market continued to rise, and domestic and foreign cotton prices have repeatedly hit new annual highs. Under the initiative of “Chinese New Year in situ” during the domestic Spring Festival, the textile industry resumed work and production ahead of schedule, the demand and consumption of the textile industry continued to improve, and domestic cotton prices continued to rise.

　　 International cotton prices fluctuated upwards and fell back at the end of February. China’s imported cotton price index FC Index M was both 94.07 US cents/lb each month, up 5.47 US cents from the previous month and 16.17 US cents from the same period last year.