Analysis Of China'S Clothing Export In The First Five Months

　　 (source: clothing branch of China Textile Import and Export Chamber of Commerce) From January to may 2021, China's clothing (including clothing accessories, the same below) exports reached 58.49 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 48.2%, and an increase of 14.2% over the same period in 2019. In May, the clothing export reached US $12.59 billion, up 37.6% year-on-year, 3.4% higher than that in May 2019, and the growth rate was significantly slower than that in April.

The change of epidemic prevention materials export has a certain impact on the overall export of clothing

The epidemic prevention materials such as medical protective clothing and medical gloves are classified under clothing, and their export trend has a certain impact on clothing export. In the first five months of this year, China's export of medical protective clothing was US $1.86 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 44.7%, and the export of medical gloves was $5.48 billion, an increase of 370.1%, accounting for 12.5% of the total export of clothing. If the factor of epidemic prevention materials is excluded, China's conventional clothing export in the first five months is 51.15 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year increase of 46.4%, only 2.8% compared with the same period in 2019.

Export growth of knitted apparel exceeds 60%

From January to may, the export of knitted apparel reached US $23.16 billion, up 60.6% year-on-year and 14.8% higher than that of the same period in 2019. In May, the growth rate of knitwear was nearly 90%, which was mainly due to the return orders of overseas epidemic. Among them, the export of cotton, chemical fiber and wool knitted garments increased significantly, with 63.6%, 58.7% and 75.2% respectively. The growth rate of silk knitted clothing was small, with an increase of 26.9%.

The growth rate of woven clothing export is low

From January to may, the export of woven garments reached US $22.38 billion, an increase of 25.4%, far lower than that of knitwear and basically flat compared with the same period in 2019. Among them, cotton and chemical fiber woven garments increased by 39.8% and 21.5% respectively; Wool and silk woven garments decreased by 13.8% and 24% respectively. The main reason for the small increase in the export of woven clothing was that the export of medical protective clothing (classified as chemical fiber woven clothing) decreased by nearly 90% in May, which led to a 16.4% decrease in the same month of May. If excluding the factor of medical protective clothing, the export of conventional woven clothing in the first five months increased by 47.1% year-on-year, but still decreased by 5% compared with the same period in 2019.

The export of home and sports apparel products maintained a strong growth

From the perspective of clothing category, the impact of Xinguan epidemic on social intercourse and commuting of consumers in major foreign markets is still continuing. From January to may, the export of suits and ties decreased by 12.6% and 32.3% respectively. Compared with the same period of last year, the growth rate of family clothing such as robes and pajamas was nearly 90%, and that of casual suits was 106%.

Exports to the United States, Europe and ASEAN are strong, stable to Japan, and have not yet recovered to Russia and Brazil

Compared with the same period last year, from January to may, China's clothing exports to major global markets except Hong Kong, China increased by 85.3%; Exports to ASEAN and EU increased by 58.5% and 38.9% respectively; The growth rate of exports to Japan was relatively low, up 14%, 90.3% to the UK, 39.3% to South Korea and 54.2% to Australia. Exports to Hong Kong, China, fell by 11.9%.

Compared with the same period in 2019, clothing exports to the United States, the European Union and ASEAN increased by 20.5%, 31.7% and 38% respectively. Exports to South Korea, Canada, Australia and other countries increased by more than 30%. The growth rate of exports to Japan was relatively small, only 3.3%. Exports to Hong Kong, Russia and Brazil have not yet recovered to the scale of 2019, down 53.3%, 19.3% and 31.9% respectively compared with the same period in 2019.

The demand of American clothing market is rapid, while the recovery of European Union and Japan is weak

From January to may, the retail sales of clothing and apparel in the United States showed a good momentum, with a cumulative sales volume of 116.3 billion US dollars, an increase of more than 70% over the same period in 2020, and a slight increase of 5% compared with that in 2019, and the growth rate expanded again. Compared with the rapid recovery of the US market, the recovery of EU and Japan is relatively weak and has not returned to the pre epidemic level. Japan's clothing retail sales from January to April decreased by 25% compared with that in 2019. The European Union textile clothing footwear retail in the first quarter of this year still performed poorly. Compared with the normal market situation from January to February of last year, the retail market in the same period of this year decreased by more than 20%. Due to the low base in March last year, the year-on-year growth rate of retail sales in March this year was 50%, but it is still far from returning to the normal level.

Guangdong surpasses Zhejiang and returns to the first place, while Shandong and Fujian are growing rapidly

From January to may, the total export volume of Guangdong clothing exceeded that of Zhejiang Province and returned to the first place, with a year-on-year increase of 78.8%, exceeding the national average growth rate, accounting for more than one fifth of the country. Zhejiang and Jiangsu increased by 28.5% and 29.3% respectively, while Shandong and Fujian increased by 54.6% and 63.2% respectively. The export of Hebei, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces and cities in the central part of the country grew rapidly, with an increase of more than 100%.

Compared with the same period in 2019, the clothing export of Guangdong, Shandong and Fujian increased by 19.7%, 37% and 25.4% respectively. Zhejiang and Jiangsu have not yet recovered to the export scale in 2019, which are still 1.8% and 0.7% respectively compared with the same period in 2019.

The trend of clothing export in the second half of the year is faced with many repeated and mixed factors

In the first half of this year, with the recovery of international market demand, as well as the return of orders caused by epidemic situation in other supply countries and turmoil, China's clothing export showed a good recovery trend. Looking forward to the second half of the year, as the US $2 trillion cash subsidy effect subsides, the epidemic situation of neighboring clothing suppliers slows down, and the three major obstacles of exchange rate, freight and raw material prices are added, whether China's clothing export can continue the growth trend of the first half of the year and return to the level of 2019 is still uncertain.