In the first half of this year, despite unfavorable factors such as weakening external demand and order diversion, China's home textile exports maintained positive growth, slightly better than the overall export situation of textiles and garments. Export growth mainly relied on emerging markets and new trade methods such as cross-border e-commerce and border trade, while traditional markets and trade methods remained relatively sluggish.
Cumulative export growth slowed Export decline widened in June
In the first half of the year, China's cumulative home textile exports reached US\u00a0$15.86 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.8%, with the cumulative growth rate falling by 2.4 percentage points compared to the previous month. In June, home textile exports amounted to US\u00a0$2.75 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.3%, further widening from the 5.9% decrease in the previous month. From a monthly perspective, export growth fluctuated significantly in the first half of the year, with exports declining by over 10% in January and February, then rapidly rebounding to peak growth rates of 26% and 27.6% in March and April, before falling rapidly again from May onwards.
Specifically, product categories with faster export growth include kitchenware, tablecloths, and carpets. Kitchenware exports reached US\u00a0$1.53 billion, up 15.7% year-on-year; tablecloth exports reached US\u00a0$380 million, up 10.6% year-on-year; and carpet exports reached US\u00a0$2.04 billion, up 8.6% year-on-year. Bedding exports amounted to US\u00a0$6.81 billion, with a slight increase of 0.7% year-on-year; blankets and towels exports amounted to US\u00a0$1.62 billion and US\u00a0$1.16 billion respectively, with export growth turning negative, falling by 3.1% and 3.5% respectively. Curtain and other decorative products continued their downward trend, with a decrease of 2%-4%.
Strong growth in emerging markets Decline in exports to developed economies
China's top four home textile export markets are the United States, ASEAN, the European Union, and Japan. In the first half of the year, exports to the United States reached US\u00a0$4.68 billion, down 9% year-on-year, with the cumulative decrease widening by 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous month; exports to ASEAN reached US\u00a0$2.15 billion, up 22.5% year-on-year, with the cumulative growth rate slowing by 10.5 percentage points compared to the previous month; exports to the European Union reached US\u00a0$1.88 billion, down 9.4% year-on-year, narrowing by 1.5 percentage points compared to the previous month; and exports to Japan reached US\u00a0$1.22 billion, down 9.3% year-on-year, widening by 1.8 percentage points compared to the previous month.
In the first half of the year, exports to countries along the Belt and Road reached US\u00a0$4.64 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.7%. Exports to the six GCC countries reached US\u00a0$760 million, an increase of 8.5%; exports to the five Central Asian countries reached US\u00a0$380 million, a sharp increase of 50.4%; exports to Africa reached US\u00a0$730 million, a sharp increase of 19.3%; exports to Latin America reached US\u00a0$850 million, an increase of 10.2%; and exports to Australia reached US\u00a0$640 million, an increase of 5.7%.
Export growth in Zhejiang and Guangdong Sharp rise in border trade exports
Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Guangdong, and Shanghai ranked among the top five provinces and cities in China's home textile exports. In the first half of the year, Zhejiang's exports reached US\u00a0$4.84 billion, up 1.7% year-on-year; Jiangsu's exports reached US\u00a0$3.18 billion, down 10.6%; Shandong's exports reached US\u00a0$2.18 billion, down 6%; Guangdong's exports reached US\u00a0$1.38 billion, with a sharp increase of 39%; and Shanghai's exports reached US\u00a0$900 million, down 11.2%. In other regions, Xinjiang, Guangxi, and Heilongjiang achieved rapid export growth through border trade, increasing by 1.3 times, 1.1 times, and 1.5 times respectively.
China's market share in the US and EU markets declined Market share in Japan remained stable
From January to May 2023, the US imported US\u00a0$5.94 billion worth of home textile products, down 25.9%, with imports from China declining by 31.9%, accounting for 39.1%, down 3.5 percentage points from the same period last year. During the same period, US imports from India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Vietnam fell by 23.6%, 24.1%, 25.7%, and 38.1% respectively. Among the main sources of imports, only imports from Mexico increased by 15.5%.
From January to May, the EU imported US\u00a0$3.96 billion worth of home textile products, down 19.9%, with imports from China down 26.2%, accounting for 32.7%, down 2.8 percentage points from the same period last year. During the same period, EU imports from Pakistan, Turkey, India, and the UK fell by 10.8%, 16.1%, 28.2%, and 5.2% respectively.
From January to May, Japan imported US\u00a0$1.29 billion worth of home textile products, down 7.3%, with imports from China down 7.4%, accounting for 74.1%, down 0.1 percentage points from the same period last year. During the same period, Japan's imports from Vietnam, India, Thailand, and Bangladesh fell by 2.2%, 33.7%, 8.9%, and 22.9% respectively.
Since the first half of the year, import demand in traditional markets such as the US, Europe, and Japan has remained weak due to factors such as reduced consumer enthusiasm for home textiles, digestion of accumulated inventory, and "de-Chinaization." According to international shipping data, consumer demand in the US furniture market increased in June, and the year-on-year decline in furniture products shipped from Asia to the US in June improved compared to May. In addition, ahead of the back-to-school season in July and August, parents across the US are actively preparing to increase spending on their children, and businesses are offering discounts to boost back-to-school shopping, which is expected to open up an upward channel for home textile sales in the second half of the year. Currently, destocking in the US is nearing its end, with the inventory-to-sales ratio for furniture, home furnishings, and electronics stores at 1.63 in June, a further decrease of 1.8% compared to the previous month. With Macy's home furnishing category showing signs of a significant recovery, home textile sales are also considered to have entered a substantial recovery phase. However, at the same time, competition in the global home textile market is becoming increasingly fierce, and China's share of home textile imports in developed markets such as the US and Europe is still slowly declining, while the share of Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan is steadily rising. Under the new situation, Chinese home textile export enterprises should actively accelerate transformation and upgrading, enhance design and R\u0026D capabilities, strengthen global layout, and promote the sustainable development of China's home textile foreign trade.
