According to Chinese customs statistics, from January to April, China's clothing exports (including clothing accessories, hereinafter the same) totaled US\$45.56 billion, a slight decrease of 0.4% year-on-year. April's exports reached US\$11.74 billion, down 4.4% year-on-year, with the decline significantly narrowing compared to March. The direct reason for the year-on-year decline in March and April is the higher base caused by concentrated shipments in the same period last year after the easing of the epidemic, but it still maintained a growth trend compared with the same period in 2022.
Exports of woven and knitted garments both increased in volume but decreased in price
From January to April, the export volume of both knitted and woven garments increased by more than 10%, but due to a significant year-on-year decrease in unit price, the total export value was lowered. Knitted garment exports reached US\$20.29 billion, up 2.6% year-on-year; export volume reached 6.57 billion pieces, up 10.1% year-on-year; export prices fell 6.8% year-on-year. Woven garment exports reached US\$19.6 billion, down 2.4% year-on-year; export volume reached 4.18 billion pieces, up 10.8% year-on-year; export prices fell 11.9% year-on-year. Clothing accessories exports reached US\$4.15 billion, down 6.2% year-on-year. The reasons for the increase in export volume and decrease in price are: firstly, the export price increase was significant in the same period last year; secondly, although the demand in the international market has rebounded, there is a preference for low-priced goods; thirdly, the proportion of cross-border e-commerce exports with lower unit prices has significantly increased.
Exports of shirts and underwear grew rapidly
From January to April, exports of shirts and underwear grew rapidly. Among them, knitted T-shirts saw a significant increase of 27.2%, while shirts, underwear/sleepwear, and bras increased by 9.3%, 8.5%, and 10.8%, respectively. Exports of outerwear saw a significant decline. Exports of coats/winter clothes and suits/casual suits decreased by 20.4% and 11.1%, respectively.
Exports to Europe and America stabilized, while exports to Central Asia grew rapidly
From January to April, exports to Western developed economies (US, Canada, EU, UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand) reached US\$23.52 billion, down 2.4% year-on-year. Exports to the US reached US\$9.28 billion, up 0.3% year-on-year, accounting for 20.4%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points. Exports to the EU reached US\$6.55 billion, down 0.8% year-on-year, accounting for 14.4%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points. Exports to Japan reached US\$3.84 billion, down 9.6% year-on-year, accounting for 8.4%, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points. Exports to the UK, Singapore, and Canada reached US\$1.31 billion, US\$990 million, and US\$690 million, respectively, with increases of 8.3%, 9.5%, and 1.6%, respectively. Exports to South Korea and Australia reached US\$2.03 billion and US\$1.65 billion, respectively, with decreases of 2.3% and 12.1%, respectively.
Exports to major emerging markets such as Central Asia and ASEAN maintained rapid growth. From January to April, exports to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached US\$20.72 billion, up 1% year-on-year, accounting for 45.5%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points. Exports to ASEAN reached US\$5.21 billion, up 4.3% year-on-year, accounting for 11.4%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points, with exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia increasing by 5.7%, 59%, and 30.4%, respectively. Exports to the five Central Asian countries reached US\$4.07 billion, up 31.7% year-on-year, with exports to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan increasing by 92.9% and 28.7%, respectively. Exports to Russia reached US\$980 million, down 8.5% year-on-year. Exports to Africa reached US\$2.54 billion, down 15.2% year-on-year. Exports to Latin America reached US\$2.7 billion, down 5.1% year-on-year. Exports to the six GCC countries reached US\$1.55 billion, down 9.3% year-on-year.
Xinjiang becomes China's fifth largest clothing export region
From January to April, exports from Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shandong increased by 4.1%, 2%, and 9.5%, respectively, year-on-year. Exports from Guangdong, Fujian, and Shanghai decreased by 15.2%, 1.1%, and 6.9%, respectively, year-on-year. The combined share of the five eastern provinces and one municipality accounted for 74.3% of the national total, down 0.8 percentage points year-on-year. Exports from the 20 provinces and cities in central and western China increased by 5.6% in total, accounting for 22.1% of total exports, an increase of 1.3 percentage points. Among them, exports from Xinjiang, Hubei, and Guangxi increased by 42.9%, 48.3%, and 52.3%, respectively. From January to April, Xinjiang's export value exceeded that of Fujian and Shanghai, becoming the fifth largest export region.
China's market share in the US and EU markets rebounded, while it declined in the Japanese and Australian markets
From January to March, China's clothing accounted for 21.3% of the US import market share, an increase of 1.8 percentage points year-on-year; 26.5% of the EU market share, an increase of 1.3 percentage points year-on-year; 47.4% of the Japanese market share, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points year-on-year; 23.6% of the UK market share, an increase of 1.2 percentage points year-on-year; 58.4% of the Australian market share, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points year-on-year; 28.3% of the Canadian market share, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points year-on-year; 30.9% of the South Korean market share, an increase of 1.2 percentage points year-on-year; and 27.5% of the Swiss import market share, an increase of 2.4 percentage points year-on-year.
