From January to June 2014, my country’s apparel exports totaled US$79.19 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%. The growth rate dropped 7.2 percentage points from last year. The export unit price was US$2.5 per piece, a year-on-year decrease of 0.7%.
1. Exports to European and American markets are improving, while exports to Japan, Hong Kong and ASEAN markets continue to decline
From January to June, the economic recovery momentum of the EU and the United States gradually stabilized, and my country’s exports to Europe and the United States maintained growth. Exports to the EU were US$19.66 billion, an increase of 20.2%, accounting for 24.8%, 2.2 percentage points higher than last year; exports to the United States US$14.24 billion, an increase of 7.4%, accounting for 18%, 0.5 percentage points higher than last year. Affected by Japan’s shift in procurement focus and the increase in the consumption tax from 5% to 8%, exports to Japan continued to be sluggish, with exports reaching US$8.84 billion, a decrease of 11.1%, accounting for 11.2%, 1.3 percentage points lower than last year. 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$3.93 billion, a decrease of 16.9%, accounting for 5%, 1 percentage point lower than last year.
Exports to ASEAN continued to decline, with export volume reaching US$6.09 billion, a decrease of 7%, accounting for 7.7%, 0.3 percentage points lower than last year. Among them, exports to Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines dropped most significantly, falling by 25.7%, 23.7%, and 21.8% respectively. In addition, exports to Nigeria and the Netherlands grew rapidly, with increases of 128% and 55.2% respectively. Exports to Panama and Kazakhstan fell rapidly, down 37.7% and 23.2% respectively.
2. The export of knitted clothing declined, and the unit price of cotton clothing fell
From January to June, the total export volume of woven garments was US$33.55 billion, an increase of 24.3%, and the unit price dropped slightly by 1.1% year-on-year. The total export volume of knitted garments was US$35.09 billion, down 9.4%, of which the unit price of cotton knitted garments dropped significantly, down 16.3%. Both the export quantity and export unit price of fur leather garments increased, totaling US$800 million, a year-on-year increase of 30.3%. The export quantity and unit price of clothing accessories were basically the same as last year, and the total export volume was US$6.34 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%.
Affected by the adjustment of the reserve cotton release policy, cotton prices continue to fall, affecting the prices of downstream products. The unit price of cotton garment exports fell by 8.7%, causing total exports to fall by 7.8%, totaling US$30.28 billion. The unit price of chemical fiber garments fluctuated little. As the export volume increased by 24.8%, the total export volume increased by 19.4%, totaling US$29.27 billion. The total export volume of silk clothing was US$500 million, a year-on-year decrease of 28.1%; the total export volume of wool clothing was US$1.23 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%.
3. The share of general trade has steadily increased
General trade is the main trade mode of my country’s clothing exports. From January to June, general trade exports amounted to US$59.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%, accounting for 75.2% of total exports, an increase of 1.5 percentage points over last year. Processing trade has continued its downward trend for many years, with total exports from January to June reaching US$10.69 billion, down 1.3% year-on-year, accounting for 13.5% of total exports, 0.5 percentage points lower than last year.
IV. Private enterprises occupy an absolute dominant position
Private enterprises account for the absolute dominance of my country’s textile and apparel exports. From January to June, the export volume was US$50.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.5%, accounting for 63.8%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points over last year, and the number of export enterprises increased by 3.5% year-on-year. . The export volume of foreign-funded enterprises and state-owned and holding enterprises both declined, by 2.4% and 7.2% respectively, and their proportions further fell to 23.3% and 12.8%. The number of export enterprises also decreased by 4% and 3% respectively.
5. 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$14.304 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%, ranking first; Guangdong’s export volume was US$14.299 billion, a slight decrease of 1.3% year-on-year, ranking second; Jiangsu’s export volume was US$14.299 billion, a slight decrease of 1.3% year-on-year, ranking second; The export volume of Fujian and Shanghai was US$7.715 billion and US$6.211 billion respectively, a slight increase of 0.5% and 0.8% respectively, ranking fourth and fifth. In addition, the export volume of Yunnan, Hunan, Shaanxi, Guizhou and other provinces and cities grew rapidly, with an increase rate between 144.9% and 379.1%. The export volume of Shanxi, Qinghai, Hainan, Jilin and other provinces and cities fell rapidly, with the decline ranging from 34.2% to 79.3%.
