In April this year, my country’s textile and apparel trade volume was US$26.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%. Among them, exports were US$23.75 billion, an increase of 6.6%; imports were US$2.34 billion, an increase of 5.9%; the trade surplus for the month was US$21.41 billion, an increase of 6.7%. From January to April, my country’s textile and apparel cumulative trade volume was US$90.46 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%. Among them, exports were US$81.88 billion, an increase of 2.1%; imports were US$8.58 billion, an increase of 5.8%; the cumulative surplus was US$73.3 billion, an increase of 1.7%.
In the first quarter, general trade exports experienced a rare decline. They stopped falling and turned upward in April, with an increase of 8.9% in that month, driving the cumulative exports from January to April to resume growth of 2.1%. Exports of processing trade increased by 3.9% in April, and cumulative exports from January to April increased by 1.8%. From March to April, border small trade exports continued to decline, and the decline gradually amplified. In April, it fell by 11.5%. From January to April, cumulative exports increased by 4.6%. The growth rate was significantly slower than in previous years.
Export Overview
Clothing export volume increases, price decreases
In April, textile exports were US$10.56 billion, an increase of 9.4%, and clothing exports were US$13.2 billion, an increase of 4.5%. Among them, the total exports of bulk commodities needle and woven garments were 2.91 billion pieces (sets), an increase of 13.3%. The average unit price of exports down 7.7%. From January to April, the exports of textiles and clothing were US$33.59 billion and US$48.29 billion respectively, an increase of 4.3% and 0.7% respectively. The total exports of knitted and woven garments were 10.22 billion pieces (sets), an increase of 8.2%, and the average export unit price fell by 6.8%.
In April, among the key export regions, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Shanghai all achieved export growth, while Guangdong and Fujian declined. Among them, Guangdong’s second place in national exports has been surpassed by Jiangsu and relegated to third place. From January to April, exports from Guangdong and Fujian declined rapidly, by 6.4% and 15% respectively, while Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong still maintained relatively stable growth. The characteristics of uneven export growth and large intra-provincial increases and decreases in the central and western regions still exist. For example, Sichuan’s cumulative exports increased by nearly 20% in the first quarter, but fell sharply by 41% in April.
Exports to the EU continue to improve
In April, my country’s exports to the EU continued to improve, with the growth rate further increasing. Exports that month were US$3.99 billion, an increase of 33%. Among them, the export volume of needle-woven garments of major categories of commodities increased by 26.3%, and the export volume of textile finished products increased by 23%. From January to April, the EU surpassed other regions and became the main market with the fastest growth in China’s exports. The cumulative export volume was US$15.08 billion, an increase of 15.4%, of which the cumulative export volume of knitted and woven garments increased by 14.9%, and the average export unit price increased by 2%.
Exports to the United States maintain good growth momentum
In April, my country’s exports to the United States were US$3.25 billion, an increase of 17.1%, an increase of 6 percentage points higher than in March. Among them, textile and clothing exports increased by 13.6% and 18.7% respectively.
From January to April, the cumulative exports to the United States were US$11.6 billion, an increase of 5.8%, of which textiles and clothing increased by 6.8% and 5.4% respectively. The growth rate of textiles still exceeded that of clothing. The total exports of needle and woven garments in major categories of clothing reached 1.7 billion pieces (sets), an increase of 2.4%, and the average export unit price increased by 3.4%.
The growth rate of exports to ASEAN continues to decline
In April, the growth rate of my country’s exports to ASEAN continued to decline. Exports for the month were US$3.45 billion, an increase of only 1.2%, of which textiles increased by 18.7% and clothing decreased by 21.7%. The export volume of needle and woven garments, which grew rapidly in the early period, increased by 12.3%, but the average unit price of exports fell by 31%, a drop of more than 30%. From January to April, cumulative exports to ASEAN were US$10.72 billion, an increase of 1.3%, of which textiles increased by 10.8% and clothing decreased by 11.6%. The total export volume of knitted and woven garments increased by 22.1%, and the average export unit price fell by 27.2%. Since 2012, my country’s exports of garments to ASEAN, mainly needle-woven garments, have continued to grow significantly, with exports to Vietnam growing the fastest. From 2012 to 2013, exports of needle and woven garments to Vietnam increased by 125% and 55% respectively. By the end of 2013, Vietnam accounted for 40% of my country’s needle and woven garment exports to ASEAN. However, since 2014, the growth rate of exports to Vietnam has gradually slowed down, with a negative growth of 21% in April. From January to April, cumulative exports of needle and woven garments to Vietnam increased by 19%.
Exports to Japan continue to decline
Since February, my country’s exports to Japan have entered a downward channel. Exports in April were US$2.25 billion, down 11%, and the decline further expanded compared to March. From January to April, cumulative exports to Japan were US$7.84 billion, down 8%, mainly due to the 11% drop in apparel exports. The export volume of knitted and woven garments fell by 2.8% cumulatively, and the average unit price of exports fell by 6.2%.
Import overview
Clothing imports are growing rapidly
In April, imports of textiles and clothing were US$1.9 billion and US$430 million respectively, an increase of 1.2% and 32.9%. In textiles, the import volume of yarn and fabrics decreased. Among them, the import volume of cotton yarn increased by 11%, and the average unit price of imports decreased by 4%. Since the beginning of the year, clothing imports have increased month by month. In April, the import volume of needle and woven clothing reached 50 million pieces (sets), and the cumulative imports from January to April were 170 million pieces (sets). In addition to re-imports, the main Growth is fastest from ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and North Korea. The average unit price of yarn imports has always maintained a downward trend, with a cumulative decrease of 2.6% from January to April, while the cumulative unit price of fabric imports increased by 4.2%. The import unit price of needle and woven clothing dropped significantly by 23.6%.
Cotton imports continue to decline
In April, cotton imports continued to fall, with imports of 224,000 tons that month, a decrease of 47.9%, and the cumulative total from January to April was 224,000 tons.Exports were 985,000 tons, a decrease of 45.2%. The average unit price of imports maintained a slight increase, with both single-month and cumulative increases of 7.5% in April. As the price of reserve cotton is lowered, the proportion of bidding reserve cotton in textile cotton sources has increased significantly. Starting from April 4, the China Cotton Price Index will include reserve cotton in the collection scope, driving spot prices to fall sharply. In April, China’s cotton price index (CCIndex3128B) was 18,437 yuan, a month-on-month decrease of 1,003 yuan. Affected by China’s reduction in the price of cotton reserves, international cotton prices fell slightly in April. The monthly average price of China’s imported cotton price index FCIndexM was 97.06 cents/pound, down 1.96 cents from the previous month. The 1% tariff and sliding tax discounted RMB are 15,201 yuan/ton and 16,158 yuan/ton respectively, which are lower than the Chinese cotton price index of 3,236 yuan and 2,279 yuan respectively in the same period, and the price difference narrows by 762 yuan and 842 yuan respectively.
