A brief overview of China’s textile and apparel exports to the EU in the first three quarters

Compared with the United States, in the first three quarters of 2015, the EU suffered from multiple crises such as refugees, the euro, and the possible withdrawal of Britain and Greece from the EU. The huge pressure caused its poor foreign trade performance, and China’s overall exports to the EU were sluggish. According to China Customs statistics, from January to September, China’s textile and apparel exports to the EU were US$40.233 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 10.71%, 5.96 percentage points lower than the national textile and apparel export decline, and the worst performance among China’s major textile and apparel export markets. Among them, textile exports were US$9.007 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7.54%; clothing exports were US$31.225 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 11.59%.
​The main features of exports are as follows:
1. The decline in yarn exports remains at a high level
From January to September, China’s yarn export volume to the EU was 314 million kilograms, a year-on-year decrease of 16.79%, and the export value was US$836 million, a year-on-year decrease of 22.92%, which was slightly narrower than the previous eight months. Among them, the export volume of cotton yarn was 9.2534 million kilograms, a decrease of 25.93%, the export value was US$55.237 million, a decrease of 35.04%, and the average unit price dropped by 12.30%, which was a poor performance; the export volume of chemical fiber yarn was 225 million kilograms, a decrease of 6.22%, and the export value was 5.54 billion US dollars, a decrease of 19.33%, and the average unit price decreased by 13.98%; the export volume of wool yarn decreased by 9.17%, and the average unit price decreased by 18.82%.
​2. The decline in fabric exports narrowed slightly
From January to September, China exported 1.998 billion meters of fabric to the EU, a year-on-year decrease of 5.67%, and the export volume was US$2.887 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.48%, which was better than the level in the previous eight months. Among them, the export volume of cotton cloth was 239 million meters, a year-on-year decrease of 19.46%, and the export value was US$338 million, a year-on-year decrease of 21.66%; the export of chemical fiber cloth was 1.159 billion meters, a year-on-year decrease of 0.53%, and the export value was US$1.403 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.96%. There was recovery. Signs: Exports of silk woven fabrics were 17.8983 million meters, a year-on-year decrease of 30.65%, and the export value was US$122 million, a year-on-year decrease of 24.36%. The average unit price increased by 9.08% year-on-year; other fabric exports were 579 million meters, a year-on-year decrease of 7.61%, and the export value was US$1.003 billion. , a year-on-year decrease of 6.70%.
​3. Major categories of finished goods saw the smallest decline
From January to September, China’s exports of manufactured products to the EU were US$5.285 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.98%. It was still the smallest decline among major categories of commodities, but its performance was slightly worse than in the previous eight months. Among them, the export of non-woven fabrics was 131 million kilograms, a year-on-year decrease of 4.37%, and the export value was US$467 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.99%; the export of home textiles was US$2.272 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 5.87%, and the average export unit price increased by 0.17% year-on-year; other manufactured products Exports were US$1.677 billion, down 0.20%.
4. The export volume and price of all types of clothing fell
From January to September, China’s clothing exports to the EU were US$31.225 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 11.59%, with a total export of 11.091 billion pieces (sets), a year-on-year decrease of 9.18%. Among them, knitted garment exports were 3.239 billion pieces (sets), a year-on-year decrease of 14.91%, and the export volume was US$12.422 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 14.03%. The average price was US$3.84/piece (set), a year-on-year increase of 1.04%. The export of woven garments was 2.184 billion pieces (sets), a year-on-year decrease of 4.67%. The export volume was US$14.757 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 10.38%. The average price was US$6.76/piece (set), a year-on-year decrease of 5.99%. The export volume of other clothing decreased by 2.93% year-on-year, and the export value decreased by 6.29%.
5. Only four provinces in the country maintain export growth to the EU
In terms of provinces exporting to the EU, the top six provinces and cities exporting to the EU are still Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Fujian, Shanghai and Shandong. Among them, only Guangdong Province’s exports to the EU maintained growth, with a year-on-year increase of 3.78%. Other provinces and cities exported to the EU The export declines were all around 10%, with Fujian experiencing the largest decline, reaching 20.81%. Among other provinces and cities, only Hubei, Chongqing and Yunnan maintained growth in exports to the EU.