According to China Customs statistics, China’s cumulative trade volume of textiles and apparel in 2014 was US$325.04 billion, an increase of 4.5%, of which exports were US$298.49 billion, an increase of 5.1%, imports were US$26.55 billion, a decrease of 1.7%, and the cumulative surplus was US$271.94 billion, an increase of 5.1%. 5.8%. Textiles and clothing accounted for 7.6% of the country’s foreign trade, of which exports accounted for 12.7% and imports accounted for 1.4%.
Situation Overview
Exports rise and fall
Overall steady growth
In 2014, China’s economy officially entered the “new normal” stage under the background of “three-phase superposition” and slow global economic recovery. Import and export trade faced a series of new challenges. As a major labor-intensive industry, the export of textiles and clothing has been affected more than other products. However, with policy support and the joint efforts of export enterprises across the country, the export volume has still reached a new high, and the monthly export situation has always maintained a stable trend. , except for a large decline in February at the beginning of the year, all months in the middle of the year showed moderate and rapid growth. There was a slight decline in the two months at the end of the year, and the whole year ended with a growth of 5.1%, which was basically in line with the forecast at the beginning of the year.
Trade structure
General trade volume increased
Growth of private enterprises
In 2014, general trade exports were US$226.43 billion, an increase of 5.8%, and imports were US$12.87 billion, an increase of 3%. Their proportions in imports and exports further increased, reaching 48.5% and 75.9% respectively, compared with 2013. Increases of 2.2 percentage points and 0.5 percentage points, among which the proportion of imports exceeds processing trade for the first time. The imports and exports of processing trade and small-value border trade all decreased. The imports and exports of processing trade decreased by 10.2% and 2.9% respectively, and the imports and exports of small-value border trade decreased by 16.4% and 1% respectively.
While the trade structure continues to be optimized, the composition of export companies has also become more reasonable. In 2014, private enterprise exports amounted to US$194.55 billion, an increase of 9.7%, exceeding the average growth rate, accounting for 65.2% of total exports, an increase of 2.8 percentage points from 2013. The export proportions of state-owned enterprises and foreign-funded enterprises further dropped to 11.9% and 22.8%. Among the more than 80,000 export enterprises in the country, state-owned enterprises and foreign-funded enterprises together account for less than a quarter, while private enterprises account for nearly 80%.
Trading partners
Europe, America and ASEAN maintain growth
Decline in traditional market share
The EU is the fastest growing traditional market
In 2014, the EU economy has been in a slow recovery stage, and the foundation for recovery has gradually become solid. As of the end of the third quarter, the GDP of the European Union and the Eurozone had increased by 1.3% and 0.8% respectively year-on-year. At the same time, the unemployment rate reached a new low in three years. As the economy recovers, consumer demand increases accordingly. In 2014, my country’s exports to the EU reached US$58.66 billion, an increase of 13.6%, ranking first in traditional markets.
my country’s textile and clothing exports to the EU all achieved growth, with increases of 9.3% and 14.8% respectively. Among them, the export volume of needle and woven garments, the main commodities, was nearly 8 billion pieces (sets), an increase of 11.1%, and the average export unit price was US$5/piece (set), an increase of 14.4%.
Exports to the United States hit a new high
In 2014, the U.S. economy continued to recover steadily. According to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis affiliated to the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. GDP grew by 2.4% in 2014. Along with the appreciation of the U.S. dollar and falling oil prices, U.S. consumer spending gradually increased, including a 4.3% increase in the fourth quarter. Correspondingly, my country’s exports to the United States reached a record high of US$44.74 billion in 2014, an increase of 7.5%, the highest growth rate in the past three years.
Exports of textiles and clothing to the United States increased by 6% and 8% respectively. Among them, needle and woven clothing accounted for the main share of total exports of 6.23 billion pieces (sets), an increase of 4.4%. The average export unit price was 4.5 US dollars/piece (set), an increase of 3.5 %.
The ASEAN market is less popular
After four consecutive years of rapid growth, my country’s exports to ASEAN began to slow down in 2014. Exports to ASEAN that year were US$36.1 billion, an increase of only 5.5%, and the growth rate was lower than that of the EU and the United States.
Among them, textile exports increased by 10.9%. Clothing exports, which have grown rapidly in recent years, have become less popular and even experienced a negative growth of 2.1%. The main reason for the decline in clothing exports is that the export volume and value of knitted clothing dropped by 15.8% and 34.8% respectively. In sharp contrast, the export of relatively high-priced woven clothing still maintained rapid growth, with export volume and value increasing respectively. 120% and 14.5%.
Exports to Japan continue to decline
The Japanese economy has yet to show significant improvement in 2014. At the same time, the appreciation of the RMB against the Japanese yen and the transfer of orders have continued to worsen my country’s exports to Japan. Japan continues to be the only traditional market where my country’s exports have declined. Exports to Japan for the whole year were US$24.51 billion, a decrease of 9.1%, an increase of 8 percentage points from 2013. Among them, textiles and clothing decreased by 1% and 10.9% respectively. It is particularly noteworthy that the export volume of needle and woven clothing, the main export commodities, fell below 3 billion pieces (sets) for the first time in recent years, a year-on-year decrease of 9.7%, and the decline was nearly The highest in 5 years. The average export unit price of knitted and woven garments was US$5.8 per piece (set), down 1.9%.
The three major traditional market share decline
According to EU customs statistics, from January to November 2014, the EU imported US$125.7 billion in textiles and clothing from the world, an increase of 8.9%. EU since ChinaHowever, it was still lower than the price index of 3,738 yuan at the beginning of the year.
In 2015, textile and apparel exports will face a more complex situation, with both challenges and opportunities. The economic recovery of major markets has not yet been fully stable. Following the United States, Europe has also launched QE mode. It is difficult for Japan’s economy to improve in the short term, and emerging market economies have not been able to survive alone. Demand variables caused by economic uncertainty will continue to affect textile and apparel export growth. At the same time, the domestic economy has entered a period of slow growth under the new normal, and foreign trade and opening up have shifted from the high-speed growth period of the previous 20 years to a medium-high-speed growth period. Raw material price fluctuations directly related to production and export will become the norm in the new year. Labor shortages and rising costs coexist, low-end order transfers are irreversible, and the RMB exchange rate has a significant long-term trend of large two-way fluctuations.
While seeing difficulties, we also see hope. The state has given more support and encouragement to export enterprises from the policy level. Textile and apparel products, which account for 95% of exports, have received full tax refunds. The cotton pilot project has also achieved initial results and will gradually be carried out across the country, helping enterprises to improve their export competitiveness. . What is even more commendable is that the “immunity” of enterprises themselves is improving. After years of hard work, more and more enterprises have integrated product quality assurance, structural adjustment, and industrial upgrading into their development concepts. Some large-scale enterprises have begun to explore “foreign trade”. At the same time, we will further develop into clusters, integrate various corporate resources, conduct regional alliances, and achieve great results in building independent brands, optimizing product structures, and going global.
Based on the above factors, we initially predict that the overall export of textiles and apparel in 2015 will not fluctuate significantly, and will still maintain steady and slight growth.
