-Overview of China’s apparel exports

From January to August 2014, my country’s apparel exports totaled US$120 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%, and the growth rate dropped 7 percentage points from the same period last year. In the first eight months of this year, China’s apparel export growth (decline) rates were 16.6%, -37.1%, 12.3%, 4.5%, 9.5%, 10.2%, 11.9%, and 10.3% respectively. Exports have increased for three consecutive months since June. The growth rate exceeds 10%, showing a steady growth trend.
​1. Exports to European and American markets are improving, while exports to Japan, Hong Kong and ASEAN markets continue to decline
From January to August, the economies of major developed countries showed signs of recovery, 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$31.43 billion, an increase of 19.4%, accounting for 26.2%; exports to the United States were US$21.87 billion, an increase of 8.3%, accounting for 18.2%. Affected by the shift in Japan’s procurement focus and the increase in consumption taxes, exports to Japan have continued to show negative growth since February this year, and the Japanese market’s export status in China has further declined. The export volume was US$12.32 billion, a decrease of 11.1%, accounting for 10.3%. As the phenomenon of false trade arbitrage has been curbed this year, Hong Kong’s exports have dropped significantly year-on-year. Exports to Hong Kong were US$5.78 billion, a decrease of 14.4%, accounting for 4.8%.
Exports to ASEAN continued to decline, with export volume reaching US$8.63 billion, a decrease of 3.3%, accounting for 7.2%. Among them, exports to Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines dropped most significantly, falling by 23.4%, 16.2%, and 12.5% ​​respectively. In addition, exports to Nigeria and the Netherlands grew rapidly, with increases of 149.3% and 46.5% respectively. Exports to Panama and Kazakhstan fell rapidly, down 24.1% and 24.7% respectively.
​2. The export volume of woven clothing and chemical fiber clothing increased
From January to August, the total export volume of woven garments was US$50.47 billion, an increase of 24.7%, and the export volume increased by 27.8%. The total export volume of knitted garments was US$52.87 billion, down 6.4%, and the export volume increased by 0.3%. Among them, the export value of cotton and silk knitted garments dropped significantly, down 18.9% and 60.9% respectively. The total export volume of fur leather clothing was US$1.76 billion, a year-on-year increase of 44.9%.
The price of imported cotton has fallen, and the price difference between domestic and foreign cotton has reached more than 40%, affecting the prices of downstream products. The unit price of cotton apparel exports fell by 5.5%, causing total exports to fall by 4.6%, totaling US$43.44 billion. The unit price of chemical fiber garments fluctuated little. As the export volume increased by 19.1%, the total export volume increased by 18.7%, totaling US$46.08 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 in the top two with exports of US$22.18 and US$22.16 billion respectively, a year-on-year increase of 5% and 4.9%; Jiangsu’s exports were US$17.14 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%. Ranking firmly in third place; Fujian and Shanghai’s export volumes were 11.8 billion and 9.39 billion US dollars respectively, an increase of 6% and 1.8% respectively, ranking 4th and 5th. In addition, the export volume of Yunnan, Hunan, Guizhou and other provinces and cities grew rapidly, with an increase rate between 124-207.8%. The export volume of Guangxi, Shanxi, Qinghai and other provinces and cities fell rapidly, with a decline between 32.9-72.3%.