From January to March of this year, China's textile exports stabilized, with a total export volume of 7.39 billion US dollars, an increase of 3.2% over the previous year.
Zhitong Finance App learned that according to information from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles, China's textile exports stabilized from January to March this year, with a cumulative export volume of 7.39 billion US dollars, up 3.2% year on year and 27.4% over the same period in 2019. The export market showed a fragmented trend. Exports to the US, the European Union, Central Asia and other regions increased, while exports to ASEAN, Japan and other regions declined.
With the exception of towels and blankets, all major categories of products achieved growth
In January-March, towel exports continued to decline, blankets fell slightly, and exports of other products grew to varying degrees. Specifically, bedding exports were US$3.2 billion, up 3.3% year on year; exports of blankets were US$700 million, down 2.7%; exports of carpets were US$1.01 billion, up 6.6%; exports of washing and kitchen textiles reached US$750 million, up 12.6%; exports of curtains reached US$680 million, up 4.8%; exports of towels reached US$470 million, a sharp decrease of 17.3%; exports of tablecloths reached US$180 million, up 16.6%; and exports of other products amounted to US$410 million, up 11.1%.
The main reason for the sharp decline in towel exports is that China's exports to ASEAN, the largest market for towel exports, continued to drop sharply by 40.3%. Among them, exports to Thailand fell by 53.3% and exports to the Philippines fell by 58.3%. Furthermore, due to the high base for the same period last year, China's exports to Russia, the fourth largest single market, also fell by 33.2%.
The export market situation is fragmented
The US, Europe, Central Asia, etc. are growing well
China's top five textile export markets are the United States, ASEAN, the European Union, Japan, and Australia. In January-March, China exported 2.27 billion US dollars to the US, up 11.6% year on year, accounting for 30.8%. The recovery trend is good. Since August last year, China's exports to the US have achieved positive growth for seven consecutive months, and the growth rate has reached more than 10%.
In January-March, exports to the EU were US$880 million, up 8.6% year on year, accounting for 11.9%; exports to ASEAN reached US$980 million, down 6.5%, accounting for 13.2%; exports to Japan amounted to US$570 million, down 3.8%, accounting for 7.7%; and exports to Australia amounted to US$290 million, down 10.5%, accounting for 3.9%.
In January-March, exports to the “Belt and Road” countries were US$2.8 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3%. Exports to the six Middle East GCC countries were US$310 million, a decrease of 9.6%; exports to the five Central Asian countries were US$210 million, maintaining a rapid increase of 31.1%; exports to Africa reached US$280 million, a decrease of 8.8%; and exports to Latin America amounted to US$430 million, an increase of 12.2%.
Exports from Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Lu are growing steadily
Fujian and Xinjiang rise to prominence
In January-March, among the top five textile export provinces and cities in the country, exports from Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Lu increased, while exports from Guangdong and Shanghai grew negatively. Zhejiang exports reached US$2.32 billion, up 8.7% year on year; Jiangsu exported US$1.55 billion, up 9.7%; Shandong exported US$1.03 billion, up 5.5%, reversing the downward trend; Guangdong's exports reached US$600 million, down 9.6%, shifting from rise to decline; Shanghai exports reached US$400 million, down 6.7%, widening the decline. Among other regions, Fujian exported 300 million US dollars, up 58.7% year on year; Hebei exported 240 million US dollars, down 16.8%; and Xinjiang exported 210 million US dollars, an increase of 60%.
US imports have resumed positive growth, and China's share has stabilized
In January-February, the United States imported 2.64 billion US dollars of home textile products, a slight increase of 0.1% over the previous year. In January-February, US imports from China increased by 13.5%, accounting for 44.7%, an increase of 5.3 percentage points over the previous year. Over the same period, US imports from India, Pakistan, and Mexico fell by 14.7%, 18.3%, and 4.9%, respectively, while imports from Turkey increased by 8.5%.
In January-February, EU imports of home textile products amounted to US$1.43 billion, a decrease of 11.1%. Among them, imports from China fell 9.7%, accounting for 34.6%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points over the previous year. Over the same period, EU imports from Pakistan, Turkey and India fell by 16.5%, 7.6%, and 22.2%, respectively, while imports from the UK increased by 5.6%.
In January-February, Japan imported US$430 million of home textile products, a decrease of 4.8%. Among them, imports from China fell 5.8%, accounting for 70.7%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.8 percentage points. Over the same period, Japan's imports from Vietnam fell by 1.4%, while imports from India, Thailand and Bangladesh increased by 19.5%, 4.3%, and 3.1%, respectively.
Trend outlook
Judging from the main market situation, US textile imports increased slightly in the first two months, achieving positive growth for the first time since the beginning of 2023, and imports from China also showed a steady trend. Meanwhile, import demand from the European Union and Japan is slowly recovering, and China still maintains a major advantage in its home textile exports. In terms of emerging markets, markets such as Central Asia and Latin America have great market potential, which is worth the attention and exploration of our home textile exporters.
Looking ahead, US consumer demand is still resilient, and the inventory replenishment cycle has begun. In March, US retail sales continued to grow 0.7% month-on-month. At the same time, there is a clear trend of consumption downgrading. Home textile discount store sales are extremely booming. Discount retail giant TJX's net sales in the fourth quarter increased 13%, and sales of its HomeGoods increased 7% in the fourth quarter, and Marmaxx's sales increased 5%; discount retailer Ross Stores's household goods sales also bucked the trend last year, breaking through the important milestone of 5 billion US dollars, with a strong increase of 9%. In a macroeconomic context where the global economic situation and trade environment are still complex and severe, the improvement in external demand will provide some support for the steady increase in the volume and quality of China's textile foreign trade.