-Overview of China’s apparel exports

Clothing exports maintained a growth trend in April 2014, with export volume reaching US$13.2 billion, an increase of 4.5%. From January to April, the cumulative export volume of clothing was 48.29 billion yuan, a slight increase of 0.7% year-on-year.
​1. The European and American markets maintain growth, while the ASEAN and Japanese markets continue to decline
From January to April, clothing exports to the EU were US$10.95 billion, an increase of 16.2%, accounting for 22.7% of my country’s total exports; exports to ASEAN continued to decline, with exports of US$3.97 billion, a decrease of 11.6%, accounting for my country’s total exports. 8.2%; exports to the United States were US$8.35 billion, an increase of 5.4%, accounting for 17.3% of my country’s total exports; exports to Japan were US$6.29 billion, a decrease of 10.9%, accounting for 13% of my country’s total exports. In addition, exports to Nigeria, the Netherlands and Iraq grew rapidly, with exports reaching US$230 million, US$1.32 billion and US$220 million respectively, an increase of 115%, 52.1% and 44.8% respectively. Exports to Panama, Singapore, and Malaysia declined rapidly, with exports reaching US$300 million, US$400 million, and US$900 million, down 50.7%, 37.7%, and 29% respectively.
​2. The eastern provinces and cities maintained steady growth, while the central and western provinces and cities grew faster
Among the top five provinces and cities in apparel exports, Guangdong ranked first, with an export volume of US$8.42 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7.4%; Zhejiang and Jiangsu’s exports increased slightly, ranking second and third, with export volumes of US$83. billion and 6.64 billion US dollars, an increase of 1.1% and 3.1% respectively; Fujian and Shanghai ranked fourth and fifth respectively, with export volumes of 4.5 billion and 3.87 billion US dollars respectively, a decrease of 10.1% and 1.8% respectively. In addition, the export volume of Yunnan, Shaanxi, Hunan and other provinces and cities grew rapidly, with an increase rate between 138.6% and 356.8%. The export volume of Shanxi, Qinghai, Hainan and other provinces and cities fell rapidly, with the decline ranging from 37.6% to 47.5%.