Trade Friction Accelerates Textile And Garment Export Structure Adjustment

The escalation of trade frictions between China and the United States will speed up the structural adjustment of China's textile and garment exports and the pfer of industrial chains to Southeast Asia.

In the first quarter, China's textile and clothing exports were 385 billion 210 million yuan, up 3.3% over the same period last year.

Among them, textiles exports 183 billion 870 million yuan, an increase of 9.3%; clothing exports 201 billion 340 million yuan, down 1.6%.

"In January this year, the export volume of spun clothing had hit a new high since September.

Affected by the Spring Festival and the "grab for export", the export volume of textile products in February was cut by a sharp margin, which has reached a new low since February 2017.

In March, the strong export of textile products reversed the decline of the two digit figure in the first 2 months, and strongly promoted the recovery and growth of the total exports in the first quarter and showed a slight increase.

Yu Xiaohong, an information analyst at JOYOU, said that exports were fluctuating sharply in the first quarter, but the overall export of textile and clothing still showed a good development trend.

"Under the backdrop of global economic and trade slowdown, China's textile and garment exports will continue to be under pressure.

In the first quarter, overseas buyers looked around, and some large international buyers adjusted their strategic layout, requiring Chinese production and processing enterprises to shift part of their capacity to Southeast Asia and other places ahead of schedule.

Yu Xiaohong said that in the future, clothing exports will continue to decline, while the corresponding supply chain raw materials supporting textile exports are expected to catch up with garment exports.

At present, China's textile and garment market is more dependent on exports.

According to incomplete statistics, China's textile and clothing exports exceeded US $270 billion in 2018, while domestic textile and garment retail sales were around us $200 billion.

The United States is China's largest exporter of textiles and garments, of which 17% of the total export volume of pure cotton textiles and garments exported to the United States is around us.

"Tariffs imposed on textiles and garments by the United States will directly increase the export cost of China's textile and clothing and weaken the price competitiveness of related products."

JOYOU information related analysts said that in recent years, Vietnam's main textile and garment industry in Southeast Asian countries has developed rapidly, and will probably occupy some of China's textile and garment market share in the future.

The escalation of trade frictions between China and the US has accelerated the devaluation of RMB directly.

In the 1 months since Trump announced the tax increase in April, the value of the RMB against the US dollar has depreciated from 6.7 to about 6.9.

Since the beginning of Sino US trade friction in March 2018, the exchange rate of RMB against the US dollar has depreciated from 6.3 to around 6.9.

JOYOU's information related analysts have warned that devaluation can temporarily benefit exports. However, the sharp depreciation of the currencies of Argentina, Turkey and other countries triggered a financial crisis, leading to the deterioration of the economic situation. The long-term impact of the rapid devaluation of the currency on the market should not be underestimated.

At present, the structural adjustment of China's textile and garment industry is accelerating.

According to the National Bureau of statistics, the gross profit of China's textile and garment industry has dropped from 12.14% at the end of 2012 to 10.16% at the end of 2018.

The textile and garment industry showed a continuous decline in the gross profit margin under the rising trend of labor costs and environmental costs. The gross profit margin in 2018 dropped to its lowest level in nearly 10 years.

The number of textile enterprises above Designated Size with annual revenue of 20 million yuan has decreased from more than 22 thousand in March 2011 to more than 19 thousand at the end of 2018. Fierce competition has accelerated the trend of textile enterprises' "going to small businesses" and the relocation of factories.