According to Chinese customs statistics, from January to September this year, the cumulative export value of clothing (including clothing accessories) in China was 118.38 billion US dollars, showing a year-on-year decrease of 1.3%. Quarterly analysis shows that clothing exports increased slightly by 1.2% in the first quarter, reaching 33.75 billion US dollars; However, against the backdrop of a low base in the same period last year, the export value in the second and third quarters still decreased by 1% and 3.5% respectively, indicating that the downward trend is accelerating. As of September alone, clothing exports amounted to 13.53 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 5.1%.
In the domestic market, the total retail sales of clothing, shoes, and hats achieved a year-on-year growth of 0.2% during the same period, reflecting the overall stability of the consumer market. In terms of imports, due to the lower import base of last year, the clothing import value increased in the first three quarters of this year, reaching 7.69 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year growth rate of 4.8%. This change indicates that despite facing external challenges, the domestic clothing industry is showing signs of recovery to some extent.
Analysis of Export Trends of Knitted and Woven Clothing from January to September
Between January and September, the export performance of knitted and woven clothing showed different trends. Overall, the export volume of these two types of clothing has increased year-on-year, exceeding the growth rate of 11%. However, export prices have generally decreased, with woven clothing experiencing a greater price drop.
Specifically, the export value of knitted clothing reached 54.35 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%, while its export quantity was 17.46 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%. In contrast, export prices decreased by 8.1% year-on-year. The data on woven clothing shows that the export value was 48.51 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 5.3%, and the export quantity was 10.3 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 12.2%, but the export price decreased by 15.5% year-on-year. In addition, the export value of clothing accessories was 11.71 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 3.4%.
In the segmented market, the export growth of knitted T-shirts is particularly significant, with a growth rate of 26.3%. The exports of other categories such as shirts, underwear/pajamas, bras, and baby clothing also maintained a steady growth trend, increasing by 8.7%, 7.8%, 6.4%, and 4% respectively. However, there has been a significant decline in the export of outerwear, especially in the export of coats/winter jackets and suits/casual suits, which have decreased by 19.2% and 13.4% respectively.
In terms of regional distribution, exports to the US and European markets show signs of recovery, while the growth momentum of exports to Central Asia has slowed down. This change reflects the asynchronous adjustment of global market demand and the complexity of the international trade environment.
During the period of January to September 2023, China's total exports to developed Western countries (including the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) reached $66.53 billion, achieving a year-on-year growth of 0.5%. Among them, the export value to the US market was 26.82 billion US dollars, an increase of 4.7% compared to the same period last year, and the market share also increased by 1.4 percentage points to 22.7%. At the same time, exports to EU countries reached 20.88 billion US dollars, with a growth rate of 1%, and increased its market share by 0.4 percentage points to 17.6%. In contrast, the export performance of the Japanese market was poor, with a total value of 8.78 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 10.1%, resulting in a decrease of 0.7 percentage points to 7.4% in its proportion in China's overall exports. On the other hand, exports to the UK, Singapore, and Canada have all increased at a rate of 6.5%, 7.2%, and 6.8% respectively; However, South Korea and Australia experienced a decline, with a decrease of 5% and 10.4% respectively.
In the first nine months of 2023, China's total exports to the "the Belt and Road" cooperative countries will reach 49.68 billion US dollars, a decrease of 5% over the same period last year, accounting for 42% of the total exports, down 1.6 percentage points.
Specifically, the export amount to ASEAN countries was 10.99 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 1.5%, and the proportion remained at 9.3%. Among them, exports to Malaysia, Vietnam, and Myanmar decreased by 4.5%, 20.5%, and 21.8% respectively. However, exports to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia showed growth, increasing by 7.2%, 49.3%, 9.2%, and 30.7% respectively.
In the five Central Asian countries, the export value increased to 9.74 billion US dollars, but the growth rate was only 1.1%, significantly lower than the 22.5% increase in the first half of the year, and even declined by 24.2% in the third quarter. In addition, exports to Russia amounted to 2.89 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 11.1%.
The Latin American market performed well, with a total export value of 7.18 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%. Among them, the export growth to Mexico and Brazil was particularly significant, at 18.6% and 11.5% respectively.
The export value of the African region was 5.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 17.4%. The export value to the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was 3.41 billion US dollars, showing a decrease of 16.1%.
In terms of regional distribution, the export share of eastern provinces and cities has rebounded, indicating that their competitiveness in global trade is gradually strengthening.
In the trade data from January to September, Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, and Shanghai City showed varying degrees of growth. Specific data shows that Zhejiang's export value reached 27.97 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%; Jiangsu followed closely with an export volume of 15.51 billion US dollars, with an annual growth rate of 1.5%; Shanghai achieved exports of 6.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%. At the same time, the export performance of Guangdong, Shandong, and Fujian provinces has declined, with Guangdong's exports reaching 17.1 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 6.3%, Shandong and Fujian decreasing by 0.8% and 1.9% respectively, with export values of 13.32 billion US dollars and 10.23 billion US dollars. The five provinces along the eastern coast and one municipality directly under the central government accounted for 76.7% of the country's total exports, an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
In contrast, the total exports of 20 provinces and cities in central and western China have shown a downward trend, with a year-on-year decrease of 6.1%, and their proportion in the country's total exports has dropped to 19.4%, a decrease of 1 percentage point compared to the previous year. It is worth noting that although Xinjiang has also experienced a slowdown in growth, it has maintained positive growth, with exports reaching 10.22 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%.
In terms of imports, the import volume of clothing from major countries has shown an increasing trend.
n the first three quarters of 2023, China's imports of clothing from major countries around the world showed a growth trend. Among them, China's main sources of clothing imports are Italy and Vietnam, which together account for 44.9% of China's total clothing imports. Specifically, the amount of clothing imported from Italy was 2.05 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 2.2%; The amount of imports from Vietnam reached 1.41 billion US dollars, achieving a significant year-on-year increase of 17.7%. In addition, clothing imports from neighboring Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, and Myanmar have also shown double-digit growth.
Among various clothing products, the import growth rate of woven clothing is relatively fast. According to statistics, the import value of woven clothing reached 4.01 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.4% year-on-year. Although its quantity decreased by 0.6% year-on-year, the price decreased by 1.4% year-on-year. In contrast, the import value of knitted clothing was 2.79 billion US dollars, a decrease of 2% year-on-year, but its quantity increased by 7.7% year-on-year, and the price also achieved a 3.4% year-on-year increase.
From a regional distribution perspective, Shanghai and Guangdong, as important ports and economic centers in China, have maintained a stable growth trend in their clothing imports. This trend not only reflects China's important position in the global supply chain, but also reflects the growing demand of Chinese consumers for diversified and high-quality clothing.
Shanghai, as the core region for imported clothing in China, gathers a large number of international brand agents and import traders. From January to September this year, the amount of imported clothing in Shanghai reached 5.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%, accounting for 70.3% of the total national import value. Guangdong Province and Jiangsu Province are also among the major importing provinces, with Guangdong's import value of 750 million US dollars and an annual growth rate of 4.8%; The import value of Jiangsu was 500 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3%.
In the global market, the import volume of clothing in developed economies continues to show a negative growth trend, but the decline has slowed down. The clothing import value of the United States from January to August was 59.57 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 2.7%; The import value of the European Union was 62.41 billion US dollars, a decrease of 4%; The import value of Japan was 15.85 billion US dollars, a decrease of 4.9%; The UK was $13.01 billion, a decrease of 9%; Australia's value was 5.76 billion US dollars, a slight decrease of 0.1%; Canada and South Korea imported $7.74 billion and $8.31 billion, respectively, with a decrease of 4.7% and 0.6%.
According to the import data in August, the demand in some developed countries' markets has rebounded, leading to a year-on-year increase in import volume. The United States, the European Union, and Canada achieved growth of 1%, 6.1%, and 2.6% respectively, while Japan's clothing imports continued to decline, with a year-on-year decrease of 8.9%. Meanwhile, exports from Vietnam and Cambodia have shown significant growth.
Based on the cumulative data from January to August, Vietnam's clothing exports reached 23.12 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 8.8%; India's clothing exports amounted to 11.34 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%. In contrast, Türkiye's clothing exports fell by 6.5% to 11.95 billion US dollars; Indonesia saw a slight decrease of 0.1% to 5.84 billion US dollars. Between January and July, Cambodia's clothing exports amounted to 5.38 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 18.7%.
The main characteristics of China's clothing exports in the first three quarters of this year include: firstly, although the export situation was stable and slightly upward in the early stage, it faced significant downward pressure in the later stage; Secondly, the export market is showing a trend of diversification, and there are significant differences in export performance among different regions. For example, exports to the US and European markets have increased, while exports to the Japanese market have declined. In addition, after a period of high-speed growth, the export of emerging markets has slowed down due to market capacity limitations and base effects.
In the current constantly evolving global economic landscape, the purchasing power and consumption habits of overseas consumers have also undergone significant changes. These changes directly lead to a phenomenon of "quantity growth but unit price decline" in China's clothing exports. On the one hand, the demand in the international market has rebounded; On the other hand, consumers' preference for low-priced products is becoming increasingly evident, and the proportion of low-priced cross-border e-commerce exports has also significantly increased. In addition, the recent sharp fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate have had a certain impact on China's clothing exports. The rise in the exchange rate has weakened the price competitiveness of China's clothing in the international market, thereby affecting the growth of the total export volume.
Despite facing many challenges, China's clothing exports still demonstrate strong resilience and enormous potential. In the future, the field of clothing exports needs to continue to increase innovation efforts, actively expand global market layout, and continuously enhance the added value of products to cope with increasingly fierce international competition. At the same time, it is necessary to pay close attention to changes in the international political and economic situation, exchange rate fluctuations, and other factors, adjust strategies in a timely manner, and ensure stable export growth. (Source: China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles)