Due to unstable demand in the international market, my country’s textile fabric exports have dropped significantly, and the profits of fabric companies have declined. In order to reverse the dismal situation, textile companies began to focus on brand research and development, develop integrated accessories, and embark on a path of sustainable development.
In recent times, my country’s textile fabric exports have dropped significantly. Industry insiders said that this is mainly due to unstable demand in the international market. The slowdown in international market demand has restricted the export volume of my country’s textile fabrics. At the same time, my country’s imports of chemical fiber raw materials have declined, and the profits of the chemical fiber industry have achieved slight growth.
Textile fabric exports decline
Data show that from January to February 2014, the national fabric import and export volume was US$7.858 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4.12%. Among them, the export value was US$6.89 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4.26%, and the export quantity was 4.789 billion meters, a year-on-year decrease of 6.73%. The average export unit price was 1.44 yuan/meter, a year-on-year increase of 2.65%. The import value was US$968 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.13%.
In February 2014, my country’s fabric exports dropped significantly. Exports to Asia were US$999 million, a year-on-year decrease of 37.41%, of which exports to Bangladesh, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates decreased by 65.36%, 62.37%, and 59.38% respectively. Exports to the EU fell by 31.04% year-on-year, with exports to the United Kingdom, Belgium and Italy falling by 39.88%, 37.77% and 34.67% respectively. Exports to Latin America fell by 46.86% year-on-year, of which exports to Mexico, Argentina and Chile dropped by 57.28%, 57.14% and 52.56% respectively. Exports to Africa fell by 37.59% year-on-year, with exports to South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt falling by 57.17%, 44.55% and 38.15% respectively.
According to media reports, there are 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the country exporting fabrics, and only 4 provinces and municipalities have achieved export growth. The export amounts of Fujian, Shanghai and Jiangsu on the southeast coast have decreased by 58.47%, 47.95% and 46.23% respectively year-on-year. The export value of Anhui, Xinjiang and Shanxi in other regions fell by 71.08%, 67.61% and 63.87% respectively year-on-year. Guangxi, Ningxia, Chongqing and Gansu increased by 680%, 247%, 78.92% and 51.89% respectively year-on-year.
Regarding the decline in my country’s textile fabrics, industry insiders said that this is mainly due to unstable demand in the international market. The slowdown in international market demand has restricted the export volume of my country’s textile fabrics. In addition, the rising domestic and foreign cotton prices are also restricting the increase in my country’s textile fabric exports.
Imports of chemical fiber raw materials decline
The National Bureau of Statistics recently released the operation status of my country’s chemical fiber industry in 2013. Judging from operational data, production continued to grow throughout the year, but the growth rate dropped, 3.3 percentage points lower than in 2012. This can also be seen from the decline in imports of synthetic fiber raw materials. At the same time, profits in the chemical fiber industry increased slightly, with an average profit margin of 3.6%, a slight increase of 0.3 percentage points from 2012.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, in 2013, my country imported a total of 872,000 tons of chemical fiber products, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%; and exported 2.68 million tons of chemical fiber products, a year-on-year increase of 8.6%. The main export products are polyester filament and polyester staple fiber, with export volumes of 1.292 million tons and 734,000 tons respectively, accounting for 48.2% and 27.4% of the total chemical fiber exports respectively.
According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, chemical fiber output continued to grow in 2013, with a total output of 41.22 million tons completed throughout the year, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%, and a decrease of 3.3 percentage points from 2012. Among them, polyester was 33.41 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%, and the growth rate dropped by 2.8 percentage points; spandex production grew the fastest, with a growth rate of 27.3%.
The reporter learned that in 2013, a total of 13.495 million tons of major synthetic fiber raw materials were imported, a year-on-year decrease of 15.9%. Among them, 8.238 million tons of ethylene glycol accounted for 61.0% of the total imports of synthetic fiber raw materials; 2.743 million tons of terephthalic acid were imported, a significant decrease of 48.9% year-on-year; and 453,000 tons of caprolactam were imported, a significant decrease of 35.9% year-on-year. In 2013, the import of polyester primary raw material PX reached 9.048 million tons, a significant year-on-year increase of 43.9%. The dependence on PX imports increased from 45% in 2013 to more than 50%.
In addition, data from enterprises above designated size collected by the National Bureau of Statistics show that in 2013, the chemical fiber industry achieved a total profit of 25.98 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.3%. The industry average profit margin was 3.6%, a slight increase of 0.3 percentage points from 2012. The industry loss rate was 17.4%, a decrease of 5.3 percentage points from 2012, and the losses of loss-making enterprises decreased by 9.3% year-on-year. Among them, the total profit of the polyester industry decreased slightly by 3.1%, the profit of the spandex industry increased significantly by 3.4 times, and the overall loss of viscose staple fiber.
