Domestically, supported by the government's pro-consumption policies, residents' income and consumer confidence have gradually stabilized. New consumption highlights such as "greater health" and "sleep aid" are gradually expanding their influence, and the domestic home textile market is generally stable and improving. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the domestic output value of large-scale home textile enterprises in the first five months increased by 3.62% year-on-year, with the growth rate further increasing compared to the first four months. According to the association's statistics of more than 260 home textile sample enterprises, the proportion of enterprises with year-on-year growth and flat growth in domestic sales from January to May was 67.69%, of which 48.46% showed year-on-year growth; 9.23% maintained year-on-year flat growth, and the year-on-year growth of domestic sales was 9.16%.
From January to May, the domestic sales of bedding, textiles, and towels, the three major sub-sectors, all maintained positive growth, especially the textile industry, which showed higher domestic sales growth. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the domestic output value of large-scale textile enterprises in the first five months of this year increased by 11.55% year-on-year, which is higher than that of other major sub-sectors. The 91 textile sample enterprises tracked by the association also showed this trend, with a 19.32% year-on-year increase in domestic sales from January to May, with 80.2% of enterprises achieving positive growth in domestic sales.
In addition, under the leadership of brand enterprises, the bedding industry is maintaining stable growth by focusing on consumer demand and user experience, grasping market trends, and combining healthy sleep aid and product quality. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the domestic sales of large-scale bedding enterprises in the first five months increased by 4.69% year-on-year. The 97 backbone bedding enterprises tracked and statistically analyzed by the association showed a 10.29% year-on-year increase in domestic sales from January to May.
The domestic sales of the towel industry generally remained stable, with a slight year-on-year increase of 1.30% in domestic sales of large-scale towel enterprises from January to May, and the 73 towel sample enterprises tracked by the association showed a slight year-on-year increase of 0.77% in domestic sales.
Entering 2024, with the global economy improving and China continuing to promote a series of policies to stabilize foreign trade, China's home textile exports have shown signs of warming. According to customs data, China exported US$18.637 billion worth of home textiles in the first five months, a year-on-year increase of 3.11%, with a significant year-on-year increase of 11.3% in May.
Except for towels and blankets, other major product categories have recovered.
From January to May, China's exports of bedding, textiles, carpets, and kitchen textiles increased. Specifically, exports of bedding reached US$6.002 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.74%; exports of textiles reached US$6.796 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.25%; exports of carpets reached US$1.755 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%; and exports of kitchen textiles reached US$1.632 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.25%.
The export performance of towels is not optimistic, continuing its downward trend, and the decline is further widening. From January to May, China's exports of towels reached US$884 million, a decrease of 15.88%, mainly due to poor performance in major export markets. Exports to ASEAN markets decreased by 33.5%, to the EU market by 10.13%, and to the Japanese market by 13.39%. In addition, exports of blankets reached US$1.221 billion, down slightly by 1.72% year-on-year, mainly due to the narrowing of electric blanket exports. In 2023, the demand for electric blankets in Europe and other regions increased significantly, greatly increasing China's exports of electric blankets. In 2024, affected by factors such as inventory and easing demand, China's electric blanket exports decreased by 10.25% year-on-year from January to May.
Markets in developed economies such as the US and Europe have shown a significant recovery.
In traditional markets such as the US, Europe, and Japan, the US and EU markets continued the growth trend from the second half of 2023, with a significant recovery trend. From January to May, China's home textile exports to the US market reached US$4.301 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.17%, and exports to the EU market reached US$2.389 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.16%. However, the Japanese market lacked growth momentum. From January to May, China's home textile exports to the Japanese market reached US$1.036 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4.52%, but the decline narrowed compared to the same period in 2023, narrowing by 4.6 percentage points.
Markets along the Belt and Road Initiative maintained stable growth. From January to May, China's home textile exports to these markets reached US$7.539 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.72%. Among them, exports to ASEAN markets reached US$3.566 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.17%. It is worth noting that the growth of the ASEAN market is supported by the export of auxiliary materials, while the export of finished home textile products is actually shrinking. From January to May, China's exports of finished home textile products to ASEAN markets reached US$1.835 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.91%.
The top five export ports maintained stable and positive growth.
Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Guangdong, and Shanghai are China's top five export ports for home textiles. From January to May, exports showed stable and positive growth. The top three ports, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shandong, all achieved considerable growth, with year-on-year increases of 4.85%, 7.8%, and 4.83%, respectively. Guangdong showed a decline of 1.72% year-on-year due to a high base last year, while Shanghai port showed a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.42%, with the decline narrowing by 8.85 percentage points compared to the same period last year. In addition, Fujian and Xinjiang ports continued to achieve high growth, with year-on-year increases of 50.15% and 33.53% respectively from January to May.
