According to the General Administration of Customs, China’s textile and apparel exports totaled US$ 45.10 billion in the first two months, seeing year-on-year growth of 14.3% (up 17.5% year-on-year in RMB-denominated), 32.8 percentage points higher than the same period of 2023. Among them, textile exports amounted to US$ 21.71 billion, up 15.5% year-on-year (up 18.9% in RMB-denominated); apparel exports amounted to US$ 23.38 billion, up 13.1% year-on-year (up 16.3% in RMB-denominated).

Figure: China’s Cumulative Exports of Textiles and Apparel in January-February from 2019-2024

Compared to historical data, China’s textile and apparel exports in the first two months of this year were generally favorable. In February, including the entire Spring Festival holiday, the total export amount reached US$ 45.1 billion, which is still at a higher level compared to the same period in history. The main reason is that this year, most textile raw material prices have slightly increased compared to the same period last year. This has led to an increase in the value of exports to some extent. Market orders have also increased since the beginning of the year, as reported by some enterprises.

However, the performance of the first quarter cannot be predicted based solely on the performance of the first two months, as it may be influenced by seasonal, holiday, and other factors. In general, the textile industry’s foreign trade is still under pressure. The primary difficulty faced by textile enterprises at this stage continues to be the lack of export orders. By capitalizing on the country’s efforts to stabilize foreign trade policies, industry enterprises should proactively enhance the structure of export products and markets, focus on developing new sources of growth, and promote high-quality development.

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express