Current status of China's textile and clothing trade from January to September 2022

From January to September, China's textile and clothing trade volume was 266.31 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%. Among them, the export was 248.86 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%; the import was 17.45 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 15.4%, and the cumulative trade surplus was 231.42 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%. Among them, in the third quarter, China's textile and clothing exports were US$92.25 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, an increase of 11.2% over the first quarter of this year, and an increase of 12.3% over the second quarter.

According to customs statistics, in September, China's textile and clothing import and export trade volume was 30 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 5.7%. Among them, exports were US$28.05 billion, down 3.7% year-on-year; imports were US$1.95 billion, down 20.9% year-on-year; trade surplus was US$26.11 billion, down 2.1% year-on-year.

Exports fell in September due to multiple factors

The export value of China's textile and clothing dropped significantly under the influence of external factors such as US and European inflation and slowing external demand. In September, the decline in textile exports was further enlarged to 2.7% compared with the previous month, and clothing exports turned from rising to falling, down 4.4%. Among the major categories of commodities, the export of home textiles declined most significantly, falling by 9.1% in the month, and the export of knitted and woven clothing fell by 3.7%. Yarn and fabrics still maintained growth, but the growth rates shrank to 5.3% and 1.7% respectively.

ASEAN and Japanese markets performed strongly

In September, the U.S. and EU markets contributed negative pulls of 6 and 2.2 percentage points to China's overall export growth of textiles and clothing, respectively. The ASEAN and Japanese markets have positively stimulated China's overall exports, and China's textile and apparel exports have maintained steady growth.

The Kyrgyzstan market has performed outstandingly this year. From January to September, China's textile and apparel exports to Kyrgyzstan totaled US$6.3 billion, nearly doubling year-on-year.

U.S. inflation remained at a high level in September, magnifying the possibility of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. In that month, China's textile and clothing exports to the United States continued to decline, and the decline expanded to 30.1%, an increase of 17.3 percentage points from the previous month. China's textile and apparel exports to the United States fell by 21.6% month-on-month. From the analysis of volume and price, the decline in quantity is the main driving force. The export volume to the United States fell by 41% in the month, but the export price still rose by 19%.

The export of knitted and woven garments of major commodities fell further to 30% year-on-year, of which the export volume decreased by 41%, and the average export price increased by 18.4%.

From January to September, China's total exports of textiles and clothing to the United States were 42.61 billion US dollars, of which the export value of knitted and woven clothing increased by 17.7% year-on-year, and the export volume and price increased by 3.9% and 13.2% respectively.

The impact of sustained high inflation in Europe on consumption is apparent. In September, China's exports to the EU fell by 16.4% year-on-year, the first decline this year, and exports fell by 30.8% month-on-month. Among them, the export value of knitted and woven garments of major commodities decreased by 14.2% under the double pressure of export volume and price, and the export volume and price fell by 10.9% and 3.7% respectively.

From January to September, China's total export of textiles and clothing to the EU was 37.37 billion US dollars. Among them, the export volume of knitted and woven clothing increased by 19.9% year-on-year, and the export volume and price increased by 1.7% and 17.9% respectively.

In September, China exported US$4.78 billion of textiles and clothing to ASEAN, a year-on-year increase of 19.6%. Although the growth rate dropped by 4 percentage points from the previous month, exports rose by 6% month-on-month. Among them, the export of major commodity fabrics in the month increased by 10.4% year-on-year, and both the quantity and unit price maintained growth.

From January to September, China's total export of textiles and clothing to ASEAN was 41.71 billion US dollars, of which major commodity fabrics increased by 22% year-on-year, and the export volume and price increased by 13.5% and 7.4% respectively.

In September, China's textile and apparel exports to Japan increased by 7% year-on-year, an increase higher than the average. The export value of knitted and woven garments of major commodities increased by 4.4%, of which the export volume decreased slightly by 0.2%, and the average export price increased by 4.6%.

From January to September, China's total exports of textiles and clothing to Japan were 15.07 billion US dollars, of which the large category of knitted and woven clothing increased by 4.5%, of which the export volume decreased by 2.1%, and the export price increased by 6.8%.

In September, China's textile and clothing exports to RCEP member countries were better than the overall global situation. The export volume to Vietnam, South Korea and Australia achieved year-on-year growth of 34.1%, 5.4% and 34.4% respectively.

In September, China's textile and clothing imports from RCEP member countries fell by 14.6% year-on-year, and the cumulative imports from January to September fell by 11.7%, which was less than the average.

The continued weakening of the global economy will drag down the export of consumer goods, but looking forward to the fourth quarter of textile and apparel exports, there are still many bright spots.

From the perspective of commodities, the market for heating products such as electric blankets has obviously encountered an outbreak this year. In the first three quarters, China exported more than 20 million electric blankets, a year-on-year increase of 18.2%. Among them, nearly 5 million pieces were exported to Europe, a year-on-year increase of 34%. Although the current export peak period has passed, Europe is facing a severe winter this year. Due to the hot sales in the market and the demand for inventory replenishment, it is expected that there will still be a wave of heat preservation products at the end of the year.

From the perspective of the market, at the end of the third quarter, the demand in the US and EU markets shrank, which dragged down China's exports. But RCEP member countries and some emerging markets performed well. Among them, in September, China's textile and clothing exports to South Korea and Australia increased by 5.4% and 34.4% year-on-year respectively, to the five Central Asian countries by 74.6%, and to Latin America by 6.2%, effectively slowing down the decline in overall exports. The depreciation of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar and the fall in the purchase price of raw materials will also help slow down the downward trend of exports and expand corporate profit margins.