Defects In Guangdong'S Clothing Export Structure

According to the statistics of Guangzhou customs, Guangdong exported garments and accessories (hereinafter referred to as clothing) in the 1-6 months of this year, 10 billion 800 million US dollars, a sharp decrease of 31.3%, accounting for 32.5% of the total exports of clothing from 32.5% in the same period last year to 21.6%.

Influenced by many factors such as the adjustment of foreign trade policy, the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, the appreciation of the renminbi and the rise in production costs, the export of clothing and other labor-intensive industries has long been an indisputable fact. The latest statistics further confirm this grim situation.

According to the statistics of Guangzhou customs, Guangdong exported garments and accessories (hereinafter referred to as clothing) in the 1-6 months of this year, 10 billion 800 million US dollars, a sharp decrease of 31.3%, accounting for 32.5% of the total exports of clothing from 32.5% in the same period last year to 21.6%.

The sharp contrast with the decline in Guangdong is that from the top 5 provinces and cities of the country's clothing exports, 4 provinces and cities have shown an increase except Guangdong, and the growth rates of Zhejiang and Jiangsu are all close to 20%.

In the first half of the year, the total export volume of clothing was 49 billion 960 million US dollars, a small increase of 3.4%.

Analysis of the UnionPay letter:

Analysts at UnionPay believe that in the case of the general cold of the foreign trade situation in the whole country, the only reason why Guangdong is so "cold" - the main reason for the drop in exports is its market structure.

The United States has always been the most important market for garment exports in Guangdong. Due to the subprime mortgage crisis and weak economic growth, the main markets except the European Union are decreasing.

In the 1-6 month of this year, Guangdong exported 1 billion 540 million US dollars to the United States, a decrease of 27.3%. It has been relegated to third place from last year's largest market. The proportion of the total exports to the United States in the same period dropped from 20.3% in 2007 to 20.3%, and also declined in Hongkong and Japan, with exports of 2 billion 770 million US dollars and 370 million dollars respectively, decreasing by 25.2% and 15%.

Only in the EU market, because of the quota cancellation this year, exports of US $2 billion 750 million increased by 72.3%.

In contrast, the Yangtze River Delta region developed relatively early on the European market and was less affected by the US market.

In addition, the garment export in Shenzhen Province, which was abnormal growth in the previous two years, is also an important factor affecting the decline of garment exports in Guangdong.

According to the statistics of the Customs Department, in 2006, when the export performance of textile and clothing quota was above the distribution basis, the clothing in Shenzhen increased from 4 billion 480 million US dollars in 2005 to US $14 billion 630 million, which was 2.3 times faster than that in 2005, and also maintained at a high level of 18 billion 800 million US dollars in 2007.

The unusual growth in the first two years has pushed up the base. In the 1-6 months of this year, under the pressure of various pressures, Shenzhen's clothing exports were 3 billion 690 million US dollars, a sharp decrease of 58.3%.

In addition, Guangdong clothing export enterprises are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises, with 4753 enterprises in 1-6 months (accounting for 44% of total), and the export volume of enterprises is less than 100 thousand US dollars, of which 1357 (12.6%) enterprises are less than 10 thousand US dollars.

While small and medium-sized enterprises are weak in resisting foreign trade risks and under the pressure of multiple pressures, some small and medium-sized enterprises frequently enter and exit garment export. In 1-6 months, there were 10776 clothing export enterprises in Guangdong, a decrease of 219 compared with the same period last year.

In view of the problems in the export structure of Guangdong's clothing industry, UnionPay analyst believes that in the future, industrial upgrading and export restructuring will be the main task of Guangdong's clothing industry.

At present, China's clothing exports in particular have been very difficult. In the second half of the year, there are many green barriers in Europe and the United States. In June 2008, the EU Directive on PFOS (the EU Directive on the restriction of the use of perfluorooctane sulfonyl compounds) and the pre registration of European REACH regulations were implemented. In September 22nd, the newly revised "Flammable Fabrics Act" came into effect in Guangdong. This will make the already stressed textile and garment industry face greater difficulties.

Therefore, garment enterprises should seize the opportunity of Guangdong to implement the "double pfer" strategy of industry and labor force, adjust their business strategy in time, optimize and develop the garment industry, vigorously carry out technological pformation and innovation, and improve the quality of products, so as to continuously consolidate the advantages of Guangdong's clothing export and expand the export trade of clothing.

However, because textile exporting enterprises are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises, it is difficult to achieve industrial upgrading smoothly. Therefore, banks should continue to focus on the export risks of such enterprises in the short term.