-Overview of China’s apparel exports

From January to July 2014, my country’s apparel exports totaled US$99.43 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%. The growth rate dropped 8 percentage points from last year. The export unit price was US$2.6 per piece, a year-on-year increase of 0.2%.
​1. Exports to European and American markets are improving, while exports to Japan, Hong Kong and ASEAN markets continue to decline
From January to July, 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$26 billion, an increase of 20.9%, accounting for 26.2%; exports to the United States were US$18 billion, an increase of 7.6%, accounting for 18.1%. Affected by the shift in Japan’s procurement focus and the increase in consumption tax, 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$10.38 billion, a decrease of 10.7%, accounting for 10.4%. 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$4.92 billion, a decrease of 14.5%, accounting for 5%.
Exports to ASEAN continued to decline, with export volume reaching US$7.34 billion, a decrease of 5.3%, accounting for 7.4%. Among them, exports to Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines dropped most significantly, falling by 25.1%, 20.8%, and 18% respectively. In addition, exports to Nigeria and the Netherlands grew rapidly, with increases of 133.7% and 52.8% respectively. Exports to Panama and Kazakhstan fell rapidly, down 30.6% and 25.7% respectively.
​2. The export volume of woven clothing and chemical fiber clothing increased
From January to July, the total export volume of woven garments was US$42.07 billion, an increase of 25%, and the export volume increased by 26.6%. The total export volume of knitted garments was US$43.84 billion, a decrease of 7.8%, and the export quantity increased by 0.4%. Among them, the export value of cotton and silk knitted garments dropped significantly, falling by 20.6% and 62% respectively. The total export volume of fur leather clothing was US$1.28 billion, a year-on-year increase of 42.1%.
The price of imported cotton fell, and the price difference between domestic and foreign cotton continued to expand, affecting the prices of downstream products. The unit price of cotton garment exports fell by 7%, causing total exports to fall by 6%, totaling US$36.96 billion. The unit price of chemical fiber garments fluctuated little. As the export volume increased by 18.7%, the total export volume increased by 19.4%, totaling US$37.43 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, Zhejiang’s export volume was US$18.31 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%, ranking first; Guangdong’s export volume was US$18.11 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%, ranking second; Jiangsu’s export volume was 141.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%, firmly ranking third; Fujian and Shanghai’s exports were 9.83 billion and 7.81 billion US dollars, a slight increase of 5.4% and 1.9% respectively, ranking fourth and fifth. In addition, the export volume of Yunnan, Hunan, Guizhou and other provinces and cities grew rapidly, with an increase rate between 146.8% and 233.4%. The export volume of Shanxi, Qinghai, Jilin and other provinces and cities fell rapidly, with the decline ranging from 30.7% to 70.6%.