In the first quarter, my country’s textile and apparel exports increased by 0.42% year-on-year. Judging from the data, textile and apparel exports have shown signs of recovery. After interviewing some exhibitors at the 121st Canton Fair, the reporter found that although the textile and clothing industry has picked up momentum, the companies have not relaxed. They still remain sober and work hard to practice “internal strength”, increase the added value of products, build independent brands, etc. It became his “coup” to make a living in adversity.
In the first quarter of this year, my country’s textile and apparel exports totaled US$54.882 billion, a year-on-year increase of 0.42%. Among them, textile and clothing exports in March reached US$20.017 billion, a month-on-month increase of 82.358%, breaking through the US$20 billion mark for the first time in the same period in history. Judging from the data, my country’s textile and apparel exports have shown signs of recovery. But how long can the recovery momentum last? Have the severe challenges faced by textile and apparel exports slowed down? Are companies facing new challenges?
Coping with order transfers with innovation
He Ming, general manager of Jiangsu Menglan Group Co., Ltd., said in an interview with a reporter from the International Business Daily at the 121st Canton Fair that the company’s export volume last year was US$45 million, a year-on-year increase of about 20%. In the first quarter of this year, the export volume increased by 20% year-on-year. About %, “The depreciation of the RMB has brought export advantages to the company.” “The company was founded in 1972. It was just a small village-run enterprise at the beginning. It mainly did OEM for state-owned enterprises, and its products were mainly exported to Japan and the United States.” He Ming said, “Japan and the United States have different demands for products. The Japanese market pays more attention to product functionality, such as whether textile fibers are moisture-proof and mosquito-repellent in summer, and whether they have heat storage function in winter. Ordinary products do not have competitive advantages and need to constantly develop new products. Function. The American market needs products to be more popular, and price is the competitive advantage of products.”
Talking about the pressure faced by enterprises, He Ming said that Japan currently has preferential tax rates for Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, and some countries do not even have to pay tariffs. Products exported from my country to Japan are subject to 8-10% tariffs, which puts a certain amount of pressure on companies.
Some analysts pointed out that the differences in tariffs between my country and Southeast Asian and South Asian countries on exports to developed economies are one of the reasons why my country’s export orders have been transferred to Southeast Asian countries in large numbers. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Cambodia all enjoy preferential tariffs when exporting to economies such as the European Union and Japan compared with my country. Especially after the free trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam takes effect in 2018, the export advantages of Vietnamese products to the EU market will expand.
He Ming believes that the transfer of orders to Southeast Asia will also have an impact on the textile industry. Facing challenges, the domestic textile industry is also undergoing changes. At present, enterprises have introduced automation equipment for packaging and logistics, with an average annual investment cost of about 7 million yuan. The introduction of automated equipment can both reduce labor costs and improve production efficiency. “Currently, orders for traditional products are mainly transferred to Southeast Asia, while orders for products with higher brand positioning and technical content remain in China. Without the support of special tariffs, our competitiveness advantage will be more obvious.” He Ming said.
He Ming pointed out that at this stage, enterprises must unite upstream and downstream industries to jointly carry out product design and research and development. “We need to work with suppliers to tackle product design and innovation as a project. Materials such as graphene, which were often used in the new energy industry, have gradually emerged in the textile industry due to their good heat storage properties. Product concept The upgrade speed is very fast.”
Improve product added value
For export companies that produce OEM clothing, rising labor costs, sluggish external demand, and exchange rate fluctuations are still the main difficulties they face.
Zhang Mengfei, business manager of Jiangsu Textile Import and Export Group Baode Garment Co., Ltd., said that the declining demographic dividend and rising labor costs have a significant impact on labor-intensive enterprises. “The salary of workers in Southeast Asia is about US$300, which is half the labor cost in China. A large number of domestic companies have invested and built factories in Southeast Asia.” Zhang Mengfei said that companies have also considered “going out”, but they have to face challenges in the process of “going out”. Do not “go out” easily without having full confidence in local laws, policies, humanities and environmental risks.
Regarding the construction of independent brands, Zhang Mengfei believes that brands need time to accumulate and accumulate. In the current competition with international brands, domestic brands can only rely on price advantages, which is also a helpless move.
In addition, the increasing pressure on environmental protection is also one of the difficulties faced by garment export companies. In recent years, environmental protection efforts have been continuously intensified. Many dyeing factories have implemented rectification and rectification. A large number of old equipment have been forced to be eliminated. The rising cost of raw materials such as dyes has indirectly led to rising costs for garment export companies. Some areas reduce pollution by controlling production capacity. “In order to ensure production, companies have transferred some orders to factories in Guangdong and other places.” Zhang Mengfei said.
Zhang Mengfei believes that to get out of the current predicament, garment export companies need to increase the added value of their products and move towards the high-end market. Has the spring of textile and apparel exports arrived?
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