In 2023, the global economic growth will slow down and the international market demand will be insufficient. Under the complex and severe external environment, the export pressure of my country’s textile and apparel industry will increase significantly. Statistics from the General Administration of Customs on January 12 showed that my country’s textile and apparel exports in 2023 were US$293.64 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.1% (a year-on-year decrease of 2.9% in RMB). Among them, textile exports were US$134.50 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.3% (a year-on-year decrease of 3.1% in RMB); clothing exports were US$159.14 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7.8% (a year-on-year decrease of 2.8% in RMB).
Figure 1 Monthly statistics of national textile and clothing exports in 2023
In December, national textile and apparel exports totaled US$25.27 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.6% (a year-on-year increase of 4.3% in RMB). Following April 2023, positive single-month growth resumed, showing significant marginal improvement. Among them, textile exports were US$11.21 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.5% (a year-on-year increase of 5.2% in RMB); clothing exports were US$14.07 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.9% (a year-on-year increase of 3.5% in RMB).
Figure 2 Quarterly statistics of national textile exports in 2023
Figure 3 Quarterly statistics of national apparel exports in 2023
Looking at major categories of products, my country’s textile exports dropped significantly in the first quarter of last year. However, since March, as foreign trade companies have given full play to their vitality, actively seized orders and expanded markets, the decline has narrowed significantly. Entering the fourth quarter, the decline in textile export growth narrowed significantly by 8.4 percentage points compared with the third quarter. In terms of clothing, the year-on-year growth rate of exports in 2023 will fluctuate more than that of textiles. However, it has continued to stabilize and recover since August, and returned to positive growth in December.
At present, my country’s textile industry’s exports to major markets such as the United States and ASEAN have stabilized. Among them, the growth rate of textile and apparel exports to the United States has maintained a positive growth of more than 5% for three consecutive months; the decline in exports to ASEAN in the first 11 months of last year narrowed by more than 10 percentage points compared with January to October. At the same time, the diversified international market structure is accelerating. At present, our industry’s annual exports to countries co-building the “Belt and Road” account for more than 50%, and exports to some countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Algeria and other countries Brilliant performance.
Entering the new year, the global trade environment is still facing risks and challenges such as complexity, severity, and rising uncertainty. However, as my country’s textile industry accelerates the construction of a high-quality and resilient textile modernization industrial system, companies need to enhance their confidence and With confidence, we will deeply integrate into the “dual circulation” pattern, actively explore both domestic and international markets, give full play to our own advantages, and win the initiative in the increasingly fierce international competition.
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