-Overview of China’s apparel exports

From January to October 2014, China’s apparel industry was generally operating smoothly, with cumulative apparel exports reaching US$155.59 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%, and a growth rate that was 4.8 percentage points lower than the same period last year. Since the second half of 2014, the international market has gradually recovered and increased demand has boosted the monthly export volume of clothing in July, August and September, all exceeding US$16 billion, with an average growth of 8.6%, effectively driving up the annual export growth rate.
1. Exports to European, American, and Russian markets are improving, while exports to Japan and ASEAN are experiencing negative growth
From January to October, the economies of major developed countries recovered, and demand in major textile and apparel import markets such as the European Union and the United States continued to pick up. Exports to the EU were US$38.58 billion, an increase of 17.1%, accounting for 24.8%; exports to the United States were US$28.28 billion, an increase of 8.5%, accounting for 18.2%. Affected by the shift in Japan’s procurement focus and the increase in consumption tax, exports to Japan have experienced continuous negative growth since February this year, with exports amounting to US$16.6 billion, a decrease of 11.2%, 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. Exports to Hong Kong were US$7.23 billion, a decrease of 15.4%, accounting for 4.6%.
Exports to ASEAN continued to decline, with export volume reaching US$11.23 billion, a decrease of 1.5%, accounting for 7.2%. Among them, exports to Malaysia and Singapore dropped most significantly, down 20.9% and 11.5% respectively. Exports to Russia maintained rapid growth, with export volume reaching US$8.49 billion, an increase of 22%. In addition, exports to Mexico and South Korea grew rapidly, up 45.1% and 32% respectively; exports to Kazakhstan and Panama declined rapidly, down 17.2% and 14% respectively.
2. Woven clothing maintains growth, while cotton clothing unit prices continue to fall
From January to October, the total export volume of woven garments was US$64.46 billion, an increase of 22.8%, and the export volume increased by 26.4%. The total export volume of knitted garments was US$68.69 billion, down 5%, and the export quantity fell by 0.5%. Among them, the export value of cotton and silk knitted garments continued to decline, falling by 8.4% and 83.5% respectively. The total export volume of fur leather clothing was US$2.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 38.1%.
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 3.2%, causing total exports to fall by 3.7%, totaling US$54.53 billion. The unit price of chemical fiber garments fluctuated little. As the export volume increased by 18.1%, the total export volume increased by 17.9%, totaling US$61.21 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 ranked the top two with exports of US$29.31 and US$27.93 billion respectively, a year-on-year increase of 8.9% and 5.4%; Jiangsu’s exports amounted to US$21.68 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, ranking third. The export volume of Fujian and Shanghai was US$14.51 billion and US$11.94 billion respectively, an increase of 2.9% and 0.8% respectively, ranking fourth and fifth. In addition, the export volume of Hunan and Guizhou grew rapidly, with increases of 192.8% and 185.8% respectively. The export volume of Guangxi, Jilin and Shanxi fell rapidly, with declines of 31.6%, 34.9% and 60.8% respectively.
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