In May, driven by the continuous recovery of domestic and foreign market demand, the economic recovery of China's printing and dyeing industry has been further consolidated. From January to May, the production scale of printed and dyed cloth increased significantly compared with that of before the epidemic. The quality and efficiency of the industry's operation resumed faster. And the exports maintained growth, however, the "volume rises and value fall" trend has not been reversed. China's printing and dyeing industry exports are still facing greater competitive pressure.

I. Production

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to May, the output of printed and dyed cloth by printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size totaled more than 22.71 billion meters, seeing a significant increase of 27.55% year-on-year and an increase of 15.47% from the same period in 2019. Since the beginning of 2021, China's printing and dyeing industry presented a good production situation as the contradiction between domestic and foreign supply and demand has gradually eased. The monthly output of printed and dyed cloth in the first five months has remained above 5 billion meters. From the perspective of domestic sales, from January to May, the retail sales of apparel, foot & head wear, and knitted goods above designated size increased by 39.1% year-on-year. From the perspective of exports, in the first five months, China's total textile and apparel exports increased by 17.3% year-on-year. Thereinto, the apparel exports surged by 48.3% year-on-year. With the gradual recovery of domestic and foreign demand for textiles and apparel, the printing and dyeing industry achieved rapid growth in production.

II. Operation quality

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to May, the share of three overheads in turnover of printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size was 7.14%, down 0.14 percentage points year-on-year. Among them, that of cotton printing and dyeing enterprises were 6.84%; chemical fiber printing and dyeing enterprises, 9.23%. The turnover rate of finished products was 7.63 times/year, up by 19.72% year-on-year. The turnover of account receivable was 3.58 times / year, increased by 15.28% year-on-year. The total asset turnover was 0.41 times / year, up 16.32% year-on-year. Compared with the same period in 2019, from January to May this year, the share of three overheads in turnover of printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size up by 0.29 percentage points; the turnover rate of finished products decreased by 13.74%; the turnover of account receivable increased by 5.25%; the total asset turnover declined by 9.39%. Although the two indicators of finished product turnover rate and total asset turnover rate still have significant gap from those before the epidemic, the overall performance are showing a recovery trend. The turnover of account receivable has achieved positive growth for the first time compared with the same period in 2019, indicating that as the company's production and operations are gradually improving on the right track, the pressure on corporate capital turnover has also been gradually eased.

III. Economic benefits

From January to May, the operating income of printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size reached over CNY 109.01 billion, up by 24.01% year-on-year. Its growth rate exceeded that of the entire textile industry by 3.21 percentage points. The main business cost was more than CNY 95.37 billion, increased by 22.99% year-on-year, accounting for 87.49% of operating revenue. Their profit totaled CNY 4.18 billion, soared by 51.05% year-on-year. The ratio of profits to cost was 4.06%, picking up 0.76 percentage points year-on-year. Sales profit margin was 3.84%, up 0.69 percentage point. Compared with the same period in 2019, in the first five months, the operating income of the printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size declined by 2.00%; the total profit decreased by 11.10%; the ratio of profits to cost decreased by 0.42 percentage points; sales profit margin declined by 0.39 percentage points.30.56% of enterprises operated in red, and their deficit totaled about CNY 1.04 billion, down 32.04% year-on-year.

Compared with the first four months, from January to May, the year-on-year growth rate of operating income and total profit of printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size increased by 2.48 and 7.44 percentage points, respectively. Sales profit margin increased by 0.25 percentage points, and the deficit decreased by 1.63 percentage points.

IV. Exports

According to the statistics of China Customs, from January to May, the export volume of eight major categories of printing and dyeing products totaled over 11.14 billion meters, soared by 40.74% year-on-year. The export value reached US$ 10.957 billion, surged by 39.39% year-on-year. And the average export unit price was US$ 0.98/meter, down by 0.53% year-on-year. Compared with the same period in 2019, the growth rate of export volume, export value and average unit price were 3.63%, -1.36% and -4.81%, respectively. In the first five months, the export volume of eight major categories of printing and dyeing products has achieved positive growth compared with the same period in 2019, but the growth rate of export value has fluctuated. And the average export unit price has shown a negative growth. The "volume rises and value fall" trend has not been reversed. The export market of printed and dyed cloth is highly competitive.

On the whole, since the beginning of 2021, China's printing and dyeing industry is gradually achieving sustained recovery. Various economic indicators have improved significantly compared with the previous year. In the process of recovery, enterprises must strengthen technological innovation and product development, effectively transform the development mode of the industry, and promote the transformation of the industry from scale advantages to quality benefits.