Apparel / Textiles & Accessories

Since the release of the global epidemic this year, the effect of "house consumption" has weakened, and the growth of China's home textile export has slowed down significantly, and turned from up to down. According to customs data, in the first eight months, China's accumulated exports of home textile products were basically flat on a year-on-year basis, and there was a certain decline in August. The proportion of home product exports decreased, and the exports of provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Delta showed a downward trend. Their share in major markets remained stable overall, but the growth rate was lower than that of major competitors.

Accumulated small growth, with exports declining in August

According to customs data, from January to August, China's export of home textile products reached 21.83 billion US dollars, a slight increase of 0.7% year on year, 1.2 percentage points lower than that of the previous month, and 10.3 percentage points lower than the overall growth of textiles and clothing.

In terms of specific products, the export of bed products, curtains and other pure household products declined by 3.9% and 13.4% respectively; The export of products that can be used outdoors, such as blankets, table cloths and kitchen supplies, grew rapidly by 13.9%, 24.9% and 13.9% respectively; The export of towels, carpets and other decorative products maintained a small growth, with a growth rate of 1% - 5%.

According to customs data, the export of home textiles in August was 3 billion US dollars, down 6.2% year on year, with the export to the United States and the European Union down 20.62% and 11% respectively. Since the global consumption trend shifted from home to travel and services, China's home textiles, as a product enjoying "home dividends" two years before the epidemic, bear the brunt.

The decline in exports to the United States has further expanded, and ASEAN has surpassed Japan to become China's third largest market

In the first eight months, the export of home textile products to the United States was 7.08 billion US dollars, down 3.9%, and the cumulative decline was 3.2 percentage points higher than that of the previous month; Exports to the EU reached 2.95 billion US dollars, up 0.4%, and the cumulative growth rate narrowed by 2.1 percentage points compared with the previous month; Exports to Japan reached US $1.89 billion, up 1.9%, with a cumulative growth rate of 0.3 percentage points higher than that of last month.

Among other major markets, driven by the dividend of RCEP implementation, China's export to ASEAN has maintained a rapid growth, with an export volume of 2.45 billion US dollars, up 21.5%. ASEAN has surpassed Japan as the third largest home textile export market. Exports to the United Kingdom and South Korea declined sharply by 21% and 11.5% respectively.

The export of provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Delta has shown a downward trend, and the recovery is relatively slow

In the second quarter of this year, the export of Shanghai, Jiangsu and other provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Delta slowed down due to the impact of epidemic control. Since the third quarter, the export has gradually recovered, but the overall trend is still downward, and the recovery process is relatively slow. In the previous August, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanghai and Guangdong ranked among the top five domestic textile export provinces and cities. The exports of Shandong and Guangdong maintained steady growth, with growth rates of 6.1% and 7.6% respectively, and the cumulative growth rates were 1.7 and 1.2 percentage points lower than that of the previous month. The export of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai and other provinces and cities declined by 1.5%, 5.8% and 9.5% respectively, of which the decline in Shanghai was 1.5 percentage points lower than that in the previous month, and the decline in Zhejiang and Jiangsu was further expanded.

Among other provinces and cities, Hunan, Hubei, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Shaanxi and other provinces and cities experienced rapid export growth, with growth rates of more than 50%.

The rise in prices supports exports

In the first eight months of this year, the export unit prices of curtains, table fabrics, bedding, blankets, towels and carpets in China increased by 10.5%, 4.2%, 4.4%, 1%, 2.5% and 10.3% year on year, respectively, which largely supported the steady export without significant decline.

The main market share remained stable overall, but the growth rate was lower than that of the main competitors

According to the customs data of GTF, from January to July, the US imported home textile products worth 11.19 billion US dollars, an increase of 1.4%. The cumulative growth rate was 0.6 percentage points lower than that of the previous month. The cumulative growth rate has narrowed for three consecutive months. China ranked first in terms of imports, with an import volume of 4.87 billion US dollars, up 2.6%, accounting for 43.5% of US imports, up 0.5 percentage point over the same period last year. Among other countries, the US imports from Pakistan and Vietnam grew rapidly, with growth rates of 12.5% and 29.7% respectively.

From January to July, the EU imported household textile products of 6.77 billion US dollars, up 12.2%, and the cumulative growth rate was 3.1 percentage points lower than that of last month. China ranked first in terms of imports, with an import volume of 2.42 billion US dollars, up 11.5%. The cumulative growth rate was 3.7 percentage points lower than that of last month, accounting for 35.7% of the EU's import share, basically the same as that of the same period last year. Among other countries, the EU's imports from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam grew rapidly at a rate of more than 25%.

From January to June, Japan imported 1.95 billion dollars of home textile products, an increase of 2.6%. The cumulative growth rate was 0.2 percentage points higher than that of the previous month, and the cumulative growth rate increased slightly for two consecutive months. China ranked first in terms of imports, with an import volume of 1.45 billion US dollars, up 3%. The cumulative growth rate was 0.7 percentage points higher than that of last month, accounting for 74.5% of Japan's import share, 0.3 percentage points higher than that of the same period last year. Among other countries, Japan's imports from Vietnam grew relatively fast, with an increase of 6.6%.

China's home textile export faces greater pressure in the fourth quarter and next year

First, the overall international demand has weakened. The growth rate of imports from the United States and Europe has gradually narrowed for more than two consecutive months. At the same time, according to the data of the U.S. Department of Commerce, furniture and household goods became one of the worst categories of U.S. retail in August, down 1.6% year on year and 1.3% month on month.

Second, domestic production costs continued to rise. The enterprise reported that the current rising cost of raw materials and labor has further weakened our price comparative advantage in the international market. The price of foreign cotton, such as American cotton, continued to rise, with a price difference of 6000 yuan/ton, greatly increasing the cost of cotton used by enterprises.

Third, international economic and trade frictions have added high uncertainty to future exports. The U.S. market accounts for 32.5% of our home textile exports. Since the implementation of the so-called "border related act" in the United States on June 21, it has caused great trouble to home textile export enterprises.

Looking forward to the export situation in the fourth quarter and next year, due to high global inflation, increased pressure on retailers to destock, and increased trade friction, the base number of China's home textile exports is higher than last year. This year, the downward trend of China's home textile exports is obvious. Next year, with the increasing risk of global economic recession, home textile exports will undoubtedly face more severe challenges.