China's textile and apparel import and export growth slowed down in May

According to customs statistics, in May, China's textile and apparel trade volume was 22.21 billion U.S. dollars, up 22.6%, of which exports were 20.34 billion U.S. dollars, up 23.8%, and imports were 1.87 billion U.S. dollars, up 10.8%. Although exports continued to grow year-on-year, the growth rate slowed from the previous period, which represented a 12.8 percentage point drop from April. In the same period, the growth momentum of imports also began to slow down. The year-on-year growth rate was down 3.4 percentage points from April. From January to May, China’s textile and apparel trade volume totaled 97.79 billion U.S. dollars, up 25.9%, of which exports were 88.84 billion U.S. dollars, up 26.6%, and imports were 8.94 billion U.S. dollars, up 19.8%.

Eye-catching performance in emerging markets

EU market: In May, China exported 4.48 billion U.S. dollars to the EU, which was an increase of 32.8% year-on-year, and the increase rate was 11% lower than that in April. Among them, textile exports reached US$1.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19%, and apparel exports reached US$3.4 billion, an increase of 38%. From January to May, China exported 18.36 billion U.S. dollars to the EU, an increase of 27.9%, of which textile exports were 4.9 billion U.S. dollars, up 24.6%, and apparel exports were 13.64 billion U.S. dollars, up 29.1%. The increase in the unit price of export commodities to the EU continued to expand, with yarns rising by 53% and knitted and woven garments rising by 25.2%.

US Market: In May, China’s textile and apparel exports to the United States reached US$3.1 billion, an increase of 11.2%, a decrease of 17.4 percentage points from April. Among them, textiles exported 860 million U.S. dollars and garments exported 2.24 billion U.S. dollars, up 6.3% and 13.1% respectively. From January to May, China’s textile and apparel exports to the United States were US$ 12.58 billion, an increase of 15.4%. Among them, textile exports were US$3.58 billion, up 13.7%, and apparel exports were US$8.99 billion, up 16.1%. The unit price of major export commodities in the United States maintained an upward trend, yarns increased by 15.8%, knitwear and woven garment exports decreased by 3.4%, and export unit prices increased by 19.9%.

Japan Market: In May, China’s exports to Japan kept growing, but it fell. The monthly export of 1.78 billion US dollars, an increase of 18.2%, an increase of 5.1 percentage points from the decline in April. Among them, textile exports increased by 35.3%, and apparel increased by 14.1%. Exports fell more than the month-on-month, reaching 26.2%. From January to May, it exported 10.02 billion U.S. dollars to Japan, an increase of 23.4%. Among them, textile exports were 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 32.2%, and apparel exports were 8.12 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 21.5%. The unit price of export of major commodities rose rapidly, with yarns rising by 47.3% and knitted and woven garments rising by 18.6%.

ASEAN Market: In May, China exported 1.82 billion U.S. dollars to ASEAN, an increase of 36.5%, of which yarns and fabrics totaled 1.03 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 44.2%, both of which slightly decreased from the previous period. The number of yarns exported to ASEAN was 28,000 tons, an increase of 4.8%. Although growth was still maintained, the growth momentum declined significantly, the growth rate was reduced by 14 percentage points from the previous month, and the export unit price rose by 38%. From January to May, exports to ASEAN reached US$7.55 billion, an increase of 42.5%, of which yarn fabric exports totaled US$4.46 billion, an increase of 60%.

Other markets: Since the beginning of the year, emerging markets have performed particularly well. ASEAN, Latin America and Oceania have all become the fastest growing areas for textile and apparel exports. In May, exports to Latin America and Oceania increased by 54.1% and 37.9%, respectively. From January to May, exports increased by 60.3% and 29%, respectively, both exceeding the major traditional markets.

General trade imports increase faster

In May, exports from major trade modes continued to grow, but the increase slowed from the previous period. The growth in exports of general trade, processing trade, and small-frontier trade was 27.5%, 8%, and 28.8%, respectively. The growth rate fell by 14%, 10%, and 18.4% respectively from April. The cumulative increase from January to May was 29.6%, 15.6%, and 30.1%, respectively.

In May, imports of general trade, which accounted for 30% of imports, increased by 38.9%, and remained relatively fast. Imports of processing trade, which accounted for 63% of imports, fell slightly, by 1.8%. From January to May, the cumulative increase in general trade imports was 44.5%, and the processing trade increased by 6.8%.

Yarn export volume fell for the first time in the year

In May, the export volume of major commodities continued to increase, but the increase rate all decreased compared with the previous period, in which the increase in yarns fell more rapidly. Exports of yarns, fabrics, knitwear and woven garments increased by 18.6%, 32.9% and 24.6%, respectively, which represented a decrease of 25.6, 10.5 and 11.1 percentage points respectively from the previous month.

From the perspective of export volume, the yarn export volume has declined for the first time in the year, and the rate of decline has reached 12.6%. At the same time, the absolute amount of yarn exports has gradually shrank. In April and May, there was a negative growth rate in two consecutive months. In the month of May, the export volume of knitted and woven garments also fell slightly by 0.3%, mainly due to the decline in exports of woven garments.

From the perspective of export unit prices, all kinds of commodities keep their export unit prices up. Yarn rose 35.6%, fabrics rose 22.5%, clothing rose 24.6%, and the gains did not change much. From January to May, the export volume of the three major categories of goods increased by 45.7%, 38.4% and 23.3%, respectively, and the export unit prices rose by 30%, 26.7% and 19.7% respectively.

Textile imports continue to decline

Among the major imported products, the import volume of yarns and fabrics continued to decline, and the decline further expanded, and the import prices remained rising. In May, the import volume of yarns and fabrics decreased by 31.4% and 10.8%, respectively, and the decline rate increased by 4.6 percentage points and 3 percentage points respectively from April. The unit price of imports rose by 43.3% and 19.1% respectively. In the same period, the import volume of knitted and woven garments increased by 40.4%, and the unit price of imports increased by 21.9%. From January to May, the unit prices for imported yarn, fabric, knitted and woven garments rose by 40.3%, 7% and 4.7%, respectively.

Chemical fiber imports increase unabated

In May, cotton imports continued to fall, and the rate of decline has accelerated. The monthly import of 145,000 tons reached the lowest level in the year, a year-on-year decrease of 27% and a decrease of 31.4%. Contrast to the import volume, the unit price of imports continued to rise. The unit price for the current month was 3,200 U.S. dollars per ton, up by 79.2%, and up by 1% month-on-month. From January to May, imports totaled 1.207 million tons, down by 12%, and the import price was 3022 USD/ton, up 74%.

Chemical fiber imports and import prices continue to maintain rapid growth. In May, the import of chemical fiber was 53,000 tons, an increase of 8.6%, and the import price was 3,550 USD/ton, up 30%. From January to May, imports of chemical fiber were 280,000 tons, an increase of 5.9%, and the unit price of imports rose by 24.3%.