China's textile and apparel exports further rebounded in October, reaching a 17% of growth rate. According to the general rule, after the export peak in the third quarter, the export scale will drop significantly in October, and its growth rate will also shrink year-on-year. However, the year-on-year growth of exports in October this year further accelerated, and the month-on-month growth only decreased 0.7% compared with that of September. From the perspective of bulk commodity exports, China's apparel and home textiles exports both have achieved rapid growth, especially those exported to the European Union and the United States markets.

Since the beginning of this year, due to the impact of the epidemic, the supply chain has become the biggest problem for the exports to Europe and the United States due to the increased international freight costs, plummeted port workers, and overstocking. Getting the goods ready in advance for Thanksgiving, the "Black Friday" shopping festival, Christmas and New Year's Day at the end of the year has become a consensus among merchants, driving China's export volume, which hit a record high for the same period in history. It is expected that the growth of textiles and apparel exports in the remaining two months of this year will likely slow down or even decline. There is still a scissors gap between purchase prices and export prices. And small and medium-sized enterprises look forward to favorable policies to solve the operating difficulties.

From January to October, China's textiles and apparel foreign trade totaled US$ 285.78 billion, seeing a year-on-year increase of 8.5% and an increase of 16.6% compared with the same period of 2019. Among them, the exports were US$ 262.34 billion, up 7.4% year-on-year; the imports were US$ 23.44 billion, grew by 22.6% year-on-year. The cumulative trade surplus was US$ 238.9 billion, up by 6.1% year-on-year.

In October, the foreign trade of China's textile and apparel reached US$ 31.89 billion, increased by 16.9% year-on-year. Thereinto, the exports were US$ 29.61 billion, up by 17.1% year-on-year. The imports were US$ 2.29 billion, seeing a year-on-year increase of 14.7%. The month's trade surplus was US$ 27.32 billion, up by 17.3% year-on-year.

Rapid growth in key markets

In October, driven by overseas market demand, textiles and apparel exports grew continually. Its growth reached 17% that month, seeing a double-digit growth rate again since February. Among them, China's textiles exports rebounded, up by 8% year-on-year. And the growth of apparel exports rose to 25%, driving the overall growth. The expansion of market demand drove China's exports to all four key markets, i.e., the United States, the European Union, Japan, ASEAN countries, to grow in October.

Exports to the United States recover continually. In October, China's exports to the United States increased by 17.8% year-on-year, of which that of knitwear and woven apparel surged by 43.5%. From January to October, the exports to the United States totaled US$ 48.3 billion, seeing a year-on-year increase of 3.9% and 24.3% increase compared with the same period of 2019.

Apparel exports drove a rapid rebound in the European Union market. In October, China's exports to the European Union saw a year-on-year growth of 31.7%. Among them, the growth of knitted and woven garments exports reached 50.6% year-on-year, playing a major driving role. From January to October, China's textile and apparel exports to the European Union totaled US$ 39.67 billion, down by 13.8% year-on-year. Thereinto, the exports of knitted and woven garments increased by 18.7% year-on-year.

China's exports to the Japanese markets experienced a fluctuating upwards trend, but the future decline seems to remain unchanged. In October, China's exports to Japan increased 6.8% year-on-year. Among them, the exports of knitted and woven garments increased by 24.5%. However, due to insufficient growth momentum in the Japanese market, the long-term trend is expected to show a slow decline. From January to October, China's textiles and apparel exports to Japan fell by 6.8% year-on-year, but increased by 2.6% from the same period in 2019. Among them, the knitted and woven garments increased by 8.9% year-on-year.

Recently, the epidemics in ASEAN countries have gradually stabilized. In addition, the local government has adopted opening-up measures to protect the economy, so that stimulating China's exports to ASEAN countries. In October, China's export of textile and apparel to ASEAN increased by more than 20% year-on-year. From January to October, China's textiles and apparel exports to ASEAN grew by 23.6% year-on-year, ranking first in the growth of China's export.

Continual order backflow

From the perspective of imports in major markets, September data presented the backflow of order. The imports of the United States and Japan are different from that of ASEAN. The imports from China and ASEAN by the United States and Japan in the month were significantly different. Imports of knitted and woven garments from China grew by 17% and 6.2%, while the imports from ASEAN only increased by 7%, and Japan's imports from ASEAN dropped by 20.2%.

From January to September, the EU countries imported US$ 85.49 billion of textiles and apparel from the world, down 5.8%; and its imports from China fell by 32.2%. The market share of Chinese products accounted for 32.7%, down from the same period in 2020 but still higher than the same period in 2019. Among them, textiles accounted for 41.1% and apparel accounted for 29.3%, both lower than 2020 but higher than the same period in 2019. The market share of ASEAN has further improved. The EU's textile and apparel imports from ASEAN increased by 24.9%, accounting for 13.1%, both higher than the previous two years.

From January to September, the United States imported US$ 102.16 billion worth of textiles and apparel from the world, up by 12.2%. Thereinto, US$ 31.3 billion worth of goods imported from China, down 13.8% year-on-year. The imports share of textiles accounted for 37.4%, and that of apparel accounted for 28.2%, which is lower than the same period in 2019 and 2020. While the imports of textiles and apparel from ASEAN increased by 28.6%, accounting for 25.4%, higher than the previous two years.

From January to September, Japan imported US$ 26.73 billion worth of textiles and apparel from the world, seeing a decrease of 6.3%. And its imports from China fell by 10.6%. Among them, the imports share of textiles accounted for 57.7%, and that of apparel accounted for 55.6%. And the imports of textiles and apparel from ASEAN dropped by 2%, accounting for 28.3%, both higher than the previous two years.

Exports of major commodities resumed

Since the third quarter, the influence of anti-epidemic materials has declined, so that the monthly exports of textiles and apparel have gradually returned to normal. And traditional commodities have once again become the main driving force supporting export growth. In October, the exports of textiles and apparel jointly promoted double-digit growth. Among them, the exports of four major categories, i.e., yarns, fabrics, home textiles and apparel, grew by 33.4%, 18.5%, 16.5% and 25% respectively. Export prices continued to rise, with the export unit prices of yarns, fabrics and knitted garments rising by 35.8%, 18.9% and 23.5% respectively. The export of anti-epidemic materials to Southeast Asia and Central and North America is still strong. In October, the export volume to ASEAN and Central and North America (except the United States and Canada) countries surged by 77% and 141% respectively.

From January to October, China's textile exports totaled US$ 118.99 billion, seeing a year-on-year decrease of 8.7%. Apparel exports were US$ 143.35 billion, up by 26% year-on-year. Among them, the total exports of surgical masks and protective clothing reached US$ 13.88 billion, plummeted by 77.4% year-on-year. And the exports of textiles except masks increased by 34.7% year-on-year; apparel exports except protective clothing grew by 37% year-on-year. The cumulative exports of yarns, fabrics and knitted and woven garments increased by 43%, 35.6% and 25.7% respectively.

Increased raw material prices

In October, China's textile and apparel imports grew by 14.7%, achieving double-digit growth for the eighth consecutive month, of which textiles and apparel rose by 14% and 15.8% respectively. From January to October, their cumulative imports grew by 22.6%.

Compounded by the increased uncertainties and rising raw material prices, the import volume of key imported commodities of yarn, fabrics and knitted garments has fallen. In October, due to the rising import prices, the imports of these three major categories of products increased by 20%, 18%, and 21.4%. However, the import volume fell by 11.8%, 4.6%, and 6.6%, respectively. The decline in imports of yarns and fabrics affected the overall export performance in the downstream products.

The import prices of textile raw materials were still high. The average import price in October rose by 33.3%. Among them, the prices of cotton and chemical fiber, which accounted for the highest proportion, surged by 42% and 25.8%, respectively. From January to October, the cumulative average import price of textile raw materials increased by 13.6%.

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express