-Overview of China’s apparel exports

From January to September 2014, my country’s total apparel exports amounted to US$138.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%, and the growth rate dropped by 5.8 percentage points from the same period last year. In the first three quarters of this year, exports in the first quarter were US$35.09 billion, a slight decrease of 0.63%; exports in the second quarter were US$44.1 billion, an increase of 8.21%; exports in the third quarter were US$59.61 billion, an increase of 9.89%.
1. Exports to European and American markets are improving, while exports to emerging markets are slowing down
From January to September, the economies of major developed countries showed signs of recovery, and demand in major textile and apparel import markets such as the European Union and the United States continued to pick up. Exports to the EU were US$35.32 billion, an increase of 18.1%, accounting for 25.4%; exports to the United States were US$25.29 billion, an increase of 8.1%, accounting for 18.2%. Affected by the shift in Japan’s procurement focus and the increase in consumption tax, exports to Japan have experienced continuous negative growth since February this year, with exports amounting to US$14.66 billion, a decrease of 10.6%, accounting for 10.6%. As the phenomenon of false trade arbitrage has been curbed this year, Hong Kong’s exports have continued to decline year-on-year. Exports to Hong Kong were US$6.59 billion, a decrease of 14.7%, accounting for 4.8%.
Affected by the economic weakness of emerging market countries and regions, the growth rate of my country’s textile and apparel exports has slowed down significantly. Exports to ASEAN continued to decline, with export volume reaching US$9.7 billion, a decrease of 4.3%, accounting for 7%. Among them, exports to Malaysia and Singapore dropped most significantly, down 21.9% and 13.9% respectively. In addition, exports to Mexico and South Korea grew rapidly, with increases of 43.4% and 32.7% respectively. Exports to Panama and Kazakhstan fell rapidly, down 18.1% and 20% respectively.
2. Woven clothing maintains growth, while cotton clothing unit prices continue to fall
From January to September, the total export volume of woven garments was US$57.77 billion, an increase of 23.8%, and the export volume increased by 26.6%. The total export volume of knitted garments was US$61.29 billion, down 5.8%, and the export quantity fell by 0.5%. Among them, the export value of cotton and silk knitted garments dropped significantly, down 18.2% and 59.2% respectively. The total export volume of fur leather clothing was US$2.26 billion, a year-on-year increase of 43.6%.
At present, the specific implementation effect of the direct cotton subsidy policy is still unclear. Policies such as state cotton reserves and import quotas have a direct impact on domestic cotton prices, and the overall domestic cotton market situation is becoming more complex. The prices of cotton and downstream products are in a downward range. The unit price of cotton apparel exports fell by 5.5%, causing total exports to fall by 4.3%, totaling US$49.11 billion. The unit price of chemical fiber garments fluctuated little. As the export volume increased by 18.2%, the total export volume increased by 18.2%, totaling US$54.16 billion.
3. The export growth rate of eastern provinces and cities is stable, while the growth rate gap between central and western provinces and cities is large
Among the top five provinces and cities in apparel exports, Guangdong and Zhejiang ranked in the top two with exports of US$26.09 and US$25.27 billion respectively, a year-on-year increase of 8% and 4.9%; Jiangsu’s exports reached US$19.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%, firmly ranking third. The export volume of Fujian and Shanghai was 13.28 billion and 10.74 billion US dollars respectively, an increase of 2.9% and 1% respectively, ranking fourth and fifth. In addition, the export volume of Hunan, Guizhou and Chongqing grew rapidly, with an increase rate between 100.1% and 180.2%. The export volume of Guangxi, Shanxi and Qinghai fell rapidly, with the decline ranging from 38.1% to 60.8%.