In the first half of 2010, China’s textile and apparel exports showed rapid growth. In the first six months, China’s textile and apparel exports totaled US$88.878 billion, a year-on-year increase of approximately 22%. China’s textile export growth may slow down in the third quarter of 2010.
The latest data from the General Administration of Customs of China show that in the first half of 2010, China’s textile and apparel exports increased by approximately 32% year-on-year, and exports of clothing and accessories increased by approximately 16% year-on-year.
Industry insiders also reminded that China’s textile exports should not be too optimistic about the future. The growth rate of textile industry exports may decline in the third quarter of 2010. There are three reasons: First, the unsustainable market demand momentum is still the main hidden danger affecting the steady growth of textile industry exports. The latest economic survey data shows that the expansion of manufacturing industries in Asia, Europe and the United States has slowed down simultaneously, and the global economic recovery momentum is showing signs of gradually stalling.
Secondly, as the price of textile raw materials rises, Chinese textile companies are forced to increase the unit price of their products. However, once the unit price of products increases, foreign exports will inevitably be affected. With the end of the first batch of replenishment in the European and American markets in May and June, orders from Chinese textile companies are currently decreasing; some overseas orders have begun to shift to low-cost countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.
Finally, the appreciation of the RMB further weakens the export competitiveness of the textile industry. After the central bank announced the restart of exchange rate reform and increased the flexibility of the RMB exchange rate, the RMB showed an appreciation trend against the US dollar. In China’s entire textile industry exports, orders settled in US dollars account for 70%, so the cost of China’s textile exports will increase.
