-Overview of China’s apparel exports

From January to November 2014, China’s garment export industry was generally stable. The cumulative export volume of garments was US$170.39 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%, and the growth rate decreased by 6.1 percentage points compared with the same period last year. The monthly export volume in November was US$14.8 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 1.32%. This is the first time that the monthly export volume has declined year-on-year since February this year. The main reason is that the base number in the same period last year was large, and due to seasonal reasons, the peak shipping period has passed.
1. Exports to European, American, and Russian markets are improving, while exports to Japan and ASEAN are experiencing negative growth
From January to November, the economies of major developed countries recovered, and demand in major clothing import markets such as the European Union and the United States continued to pick up. Exports to the EU were US$41.92 billion, an increase of 16.1%, accounting for 24.6%; exports to the United States were US$30.72 billion, an increase of 7.9%, accounting for 18%. Affected by the shift in Japan’s procurement focus and the increase in consumption taxes, exports to Japan have experienced continuous negative growth since February this year, with exports amounting to US$18.2 billion, a decrease of 11.1%, accounting for 10.7%. As the phenomenon of false trade arbitrage has been curbed this year, Hong Kong’s exports have continued to decline year-on-year, with exports to Hong Kong US$7.96 billion, a decrease of 16.6%, accounting for 4.7%.
Exports to ASEAN continued to decline, with export volume reaching US$12.48 billion, a decrease of 1.1%, accounting for 7.3%. Among them, exports to Malaysia and Singapore dropped most significantly, down 21.9% and 9.4% respectively. Exports to Russia from January to November were US$9.3 billion, an increase of 16.3%. However, due to the recent depreciation of the ruble, exports to Russia fell sharply in November, down 23%. In addition, exports to Mexico and South Korea grew rapidly, up 41.8% and 29.3% respectively; exports to Kazakhstan and Panama declined rapidly, down 14.8% and 11% respectively.
2. Woven clothing maintains growth, while cotton clothing unit prices continue to fall
From January to November, the total export volume of woven garments was US$70.59 billion, an increase of 21.2%, and the export volume increased by 25.6%. The total export volume of knitted garments was US$75.13 billion, a decrease of 5.2%, and the export quantity decreased by 1.2%. Among them, the export value of cotton and silk knitted garments continued to decline, falling by 16.7% and 57.4% respectively. The total export volume of fur leather clothing was US$3.08 billion, a year-on-year increase of 29.6%.
Due to the cancellation of the cotton purchase and storage policy by the state, cotton prices have been declining, with a drop of about 25%, and the prices of downstream products are in a downward range. The unit price of cotton apparel exports fell by 2.7%, causing total exports to fall by 3.7%, totaling US$59.73 billion. The unit price of chemical fiber garments fluctuated little. As the export volume increased by 17.1%, the total export volume increased by 16.4%, totaling US$67.11 billion.
3. The export growth rate of eastern provinces and cities is stable, while the growth rate gap between central and western provinces and cities is large
Among the top five provinces and cities in apparel exports, Guangdong and Zhejiang’s exports were US$32.46 and US$30.41 billion respectively, a year-on-year increase of 8.4% and 4.6%, ranking the top two; Jiangsu’s exports were US$23.54 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%, ranking third. The export volume of Fujian and Shanghai was 15.67 billion and 13.04 billion US dollars respectively, an increase of 3.3% and 0.7% respectively, ranking fourth and fifth. In addition, the export volume of Hunan and Guizhou grew rapidly, with increases of 187.6% and 118.2% respectively. The export volume of Jilin and Shanxi fell rapidly, with declines of 32.8% and 60.8% respectively.