Qingdao Cotton Pressed Port Shandong Textile Enterprises Face Test

China has no obvious advantages in raw materials and low-end products, and wants to continue to seize overseas markets textile clothing Market share, we must find another way to improve the added value of products, which should be the subject that every export enterprise must face.

In Qingdao Qianwan Free Trade Port, cotton It is not a day or two to hold down the port.

July is the peak season for cotton import. According to the situation in previous years, many cotton Textile enterprises The domestic cotton of this year will be basically consumed after May each year, while the imported cotton ordered in advance has been shipped in April and May, and arrived at Chinese ports in June and July.

Hongchuan Logistics Co., Ltd. is the largest cotton logistics enterprise in Qingdao Free Trade Port. At this time of year, the cotton storage rate of the enterprise's five large-scale bonded warehouses will reach about 70%, which is also the highest storage rate of the year. This year is different. Jia Shaobin, the general manager, told the reporter: "Our company's warehouse is full now, and has maintained a storage rate of 100% since the Spring Festival this year. New arrival cotton can be said to be 'hard to find one warehouse', and they are waiting in line to enter the warehouse."

On July 9, at the scene of Hongchuan Logistics' No. 2 bonded warehouse, the reporter saw that cotton compressed into cuboids was almost piled up in the warehouse nearly 20 meters high. Forklifts carrying cotton passed the reporter back and forth, but cotton could not get in and out. If you carefully check the arrival time of cotton, the earliest time was last January.

As for the reason of cotton's pressure on Hong Kong, Jia Shaobin believes that "the main reason is that there is no demand from downstream cotton spinning enterprises. Our company's perennial cotton spinning enterprise customers, many of which are medium and large cotton spinning enterprises with 100000 to 500000 spindles, are now underoperating."

"Since cotton cannot be stored, why do enterprises continue to import cotton?"

"A lot of orders were negotiated last year. Another important reason is that many cotton textile enterprises saw the low price of imported cotton this year, considered it a good opportunity to bargain, and increased the import volume." The reporter learned that compared with the current domestic cotton of 17500-18000 yuan/ton, the CIF price of imported cotton is about 14000 yuan/ton, and there is a price difference of about 4000 yuan/ton.

In the whole Huangdao Port, the largest cotton import port in China, there is a situation of "full cotton", which also reflects that many cotton textile enterprises are facing the "survival test" from one side.

The cotton industry chain is "chilly"

In the hot summer, when I interviewed some cotton producing areas and cotton textile enterprises, I felt the "chill" of the whole industry chain.

Jinlong Textile Co., Ltd., located in Wucheng County, Shandong Province, has closed down. The company has only 10000 spindles. A staff member left behind said, "Now the production of many textile enterprises has been adjusted to a very low level. As far as the operating rate is concerned, 30% - 50% of the large manufacturers, and many of the small factories have been shut down. For example, we have opened and shut down several times. There is no way, no orders, and the market is very bad." The reporter learned that in Yuncheng, Gaomi, Xiajin and other places in our province, Hundreds of small and medium-sized cotton textile enterprises like Jinlong were gathered.

The downturn in the textile industry has gradually appeared since last year. According to the data released by China Customs, China's textile exports totaled US $94.7 billion in 2011, up 22.9% over the same period of the previous year, but the growth rate dropped 6.5 percentage points; From January to June this year, Sichuan's exports totaled US $9.1 billion, down 4.2% year on year.

Ma Junkai, Secretary General of Dezhou Cotton Association, said in an interview that the downturn in the international market and the cost factors of textile enterprises are the main reasons for the cotton textile industry to enter the "cold winter". Cotton accounts for 70% of the cost of textile enterprises, and the price of cotton determines the life and death of textile enterprises to some extent.

The reporter learned that compared with the high price of 32000 yuan/ton of cotton at the beginning of 2009, today's price can be said to be parity. But Ma Junkai said, "The cost of cotton prices should be considered globally. This year, the world's cotton planting area is large, the output is large, and the supply exceeds demand. In addition, the economic downturn and the reduction of cotton consumption have led to a sharp decline in international cotton prices. Compared with Southeast Asian countries, we have no cost advantage.

The recent decline in domestic cotton prices has not only failed to benefit textile enterprises, but also greatly dampened the enthusiasm of cotton farmers to plant cotton.

Zhou Zhenrui's village, like most of the villages in Xiajin, is mostly saline and alkaline land. In addition, the irrigation water quality is poor and the amount of water is small, which is not suitable for wheat, corn and other food crops. "If it weren't for the soil restrictions, farmers would have abandoned cotton and grain," Zhou Zhenrui told reporters at the end of June while holding a cotton fork.

"Recently, I heard that the price of cotton has been reduced again, at 3 yuan and 20 cents per kilogram. Last year, the price of cotton reached 7 yuan per kilogram when it was the highest." Zhou Zhenrui said anxiously that now is the time when cotton is dying out. The price should have been higher, but according to the current situation, the cotton price is estimated to have to be reduced, "planting cotton does not make money."

The cotton planting area in our province has been declining. Ma Junkai introduced that the cotton planting area of Dezhou in 2012 was 1.3 million mu, 20% lower than last year; However, Shandong Province as a whole declined by 15%.

China's textile advantages are no longer obvious

Qiu Yafu, the leader of Shandong Ruyi Group, who entered the textile industry at the age of 17, is now amazed by the textile industry in Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia and other countries. Relying on the advantages of low labor costs and liberalized market environment, these countries have undergone significant changes in textile technology and equipment levels.

"I recently visited more than 30 enterprises in Pakistan, where the textile equipment is one grade higher than that in China, and the national level strongly supports textile enterprises. If textile enterprises set up factories in the local area, the state will use finance to guarantee 10% of the enterprises' income. If it is less than 10%, the state finance will subsidize enterprises for five years."

Qiu Yafu believes that China's relevant policies have a certain negative impact on the textile industry. He explained: "25% of the textile export tax rebate is borne by the local government. Now, for every $1 exported, the local government will use money to subsidize the export enterprises. As a result, some local governments want to drive these export enterprises out of the country. In addition, affected by cotton quota management and storage management, Chinese textile enterprises have a price difference of several thousand yuan per ton of cotton in international competition, which is why China's textile industry The level of manufacturing is so high, but now it is generally losing money. "

The reporter learned that at present, China consumes 10 million tons of cotton every year, produces 7 million tons, and the average import volume remains at the level of 3 million tons every year. Why not use a lot of cheap and high-quality imported cotton?

Ma Junkai told reporters that the reason for not opening up imports is not to repeat the mistakes of soybeans - the entire oil industry chain is controlled by foreign capital. The state collects and stores cotton by supporting the market to ensure China's cotton planting area and output, and ultimately protect the entire cotton industry chain. Including the imposition of sliding rate tax beyond the quota, which is equivalent to setting a floor for the price of imported cotton, in order to reduce the impact of imported cotton on the domestic cotton market and ensure the income of cotton farmers. "The effect of the policy is sometimes a double-edged sword. It is a good choice to appropriately increase some cotton import quotas, or to increase direct subsidies to cotton farmers like the United States. After all, maintaining stable cotton prices is most beneficial to the entire industry."

Xia Zhilin, chairman of Shandong Textile Industry Association, said that the reality has sounded the alarm bell. China's advantages in raw materials and low-end products are no longer obvious. In order to continue to seize the overseas textile market share, we must find another way to improve the added value of products, which should be a subject that every export enterprise must face.