From January to February, driven by a marginal recovery in global trade demand, the continuous positive effects of domestic consumption-boosting policies, and the extended Spring Festival holiday, China’s apparel industry has shown a stabilizing and restorative trend. Domestic sales and exports have grown rapidly, and key indicators such as production and efficiency have improved significantly, while investment alone has shown a slight contraction. Currently, the external environment is becoming more complex and severe, with intertwined challenges such as rising geopolitical conflict risks and insufficient terminal consumer demand. Enterprises continue to face numerous difficulties, and the foundation for a stable industry recovery needs further consolidation.

01 Production

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to February 2026, the industrial value-added output of garment enterprises above designated size increased by 5.1% year-on-year, a rebound of 8.1 percentage points compared to the full year of 2025. The garments output from these enterprises grew by 0.82% year-on-year, with the growth rate recovering by 4.26 percentage points compared to the full year of 2025.

02 Domestic Sales
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s total retail sales of consumer goods reached 8.61 trillion yuan from January to February 2026, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%, 0.9 percentage points slower than in 2025. Of this total, retail sales of apparel in enterprises above designated size amounted to 211.25 billion yuan, up 10.7% year-on-year, accelerating by 7.9 percentage points compared with 2025. Online retail sales of goods reached 2.08 trillion yuan, up 10.3% year-on-year. Specifically, online retail sales of clothing grew by 18.0%, with the growth rate accelerating by 16.1 percentage points compared with 2025.

03 Exports
According to China Customs data, from January to February 2026, China’s total exports of apparel and accessories amounted to US$24.87 billion, up by 14.8% year-on-year. This represents a rebound of 21.7 percentage points compared to the same period in 2025 and 19.8 percentage points compared to the full year of 2025.

04 Investment
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, actual completed investment in China’s apparel industry from January to February 2026 decreased by 3.3% year-on-year, with the growth rate falling by 8.5 percentage points compared to the full year of 2025.

05 Efficiency
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to February 2026, there were 12,532 garment enterprises above designated size (with an annual main business revenue reaching 20 million yuan or more). These enterprises achieved operating revenue of 162.98 billion yuan, up 0.89% year on year, with the growth rate recovering by 13.56 percentage points from the full year of 2025. Total profits reached 5.83 billion yuan, decreasing 5.19% year-on-year, though the decline narrowed by 22.15 percentage points compared to the full year of 2025. The operating profit margin was only 3.58%, which is 0.23 percentage points lower than the same period in 2025 and 0.47 percentage points lower than the full year of 2025.

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express