According to China Customs statistics, from January to July, China's clothing exports (including clothing accessories, the same below) totaled US$89.12 billion, a slight decrease of 0.6% year-on-year. Clothing exports in the first half of this year were flat compared with the same period last year, with exports increasing by 1.2% in the first quarter and decreasing by 1% in the second quarter. Exports in the first month of the third quarter continued the downward trend of the second quarter, with exports in July reaching US$15.25 billion, down 3.6% year-on-year.
Major categories saw increased volume but decreased prices in exports
From January to July, the year-on-year growth in the export volume of both knitted and woven garments exceeded 12%, but the year-on-year decrease in unit price was significant, exceeding 12% in both categories. Knitted garment exports reached US$40.46 billion, an increase of 3.6% year-on-year; the export volume reached 13.06 billion pieces, an increase of 12.3% year-on-year; and the export price decreased by 12.3% year-on-year. Woven garment exports reached US$37.24 billion, a decrease of 4.5% year-on-year; the export volume reached 7.89 billion pieces, an increase of 12.5% year-on-year; and the export price decreased by 19.7% year-on-year. Clothing accessories exports reached US$8.54 billion, a decrease of 3.7% year-on-year. Since the beginning of this year, clothing exports have continued the trend of "increased volume but decreased prices." The main reasons are: firstly, the export prices in the same period last year increased significantly; secondly, although the demand in the international market has rebounded, there is a preference for low-priced goods; and thirdly, the proportion of cross-border e-commerce exports with lower unit prices has significantly increased.
Significant growth in knitted T-shirt exports
From January to July, exports of shirts and underwear maintained rapid growth. Among them, knitted T-shirt exports increased significantly by 31.7% (mainly driven by exports to Kazakhstan, with knitted T-shirt exports to Kazakhstan increasing significantly by 607.8% year-on-year from January to July). Exports of shirts, underwear/sleepwear, and bras increased by 10.2%, 9.2%, and 9.2% respectively. Exports of outerwear experienced a significant decrease. Exports of coats/winter clothing and suits/casual suits decreased by 22.2% and 12.4% respectively.
Rebound in exports to the US, slowdown in export growth to Central Asia
From January to July, China's exports to Western developed economies (US, Canada, EU, UK, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) amounted to US$49.28 billion, down 0.3% year-on-year. Exports to the United States reached US$19.62 billion, up 4% year-on-year, accounting for 22% and increasing by 1 percentage point. Exports to the EU reached US$15.86 billion, down 1% year-on-year, accounting for 17.8% and decreasing by 0.1 percentage point. Exports to Japan reached US$6.34 billion, down 8.6% year-on-year, accounting for 7.1% and decreasing by 0.6 percentage point. Exports to the UK, Singapore, and Canada reached US$2.76 billion, US$1.73 billion, and US$1.58 billion respectively, with increases of 5.7%, 9.8%, and 6.2% respectively. Exports to South Korea and Australia reached US$3.46 billion and US$2.78 billion respectively, with decreases of 5.9% and 10.9% respectively.
From January to July, exports to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached US$38.4 billion, down 2.2% year-on-year, accounting for 43.1% and decreasing by 0.7 percentage point. Exports to ASEAN reached US$9.02 billion, up 3.1% year-on-year, accounting for 10.1% and increasing by 0.3 percentage point. Among them, exports to Malaysia, Vietnam, and Myanmar decreased by 1.2%, 10.8%, and 24.6% respectively. Exports to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia increased by 9.8%, 52.6%, 15.4%, and 24.1% respectively. From January to July, exports to the five Central Asian countries still maintained rapid growth, but the growth rate slowed down compared with the first half of the year, reaching US$7.41 billion, up 12.5% year-on-year (exports to Central Asia decreased by 26% year-on-year in July). Exports to Russia reached US$2.14 billion, down 13.2% year-on-year. Exports to Latin America reached US$5.2 billion, up 3.6% year-on-year (among them, exports to Mexico and Brazil increased by 16.1% and 10.5% respectively). Exports to Africa reached US$4.42 billion, down 15% year-on-year. Exports to the six GCC countries reached US$3.51 billion, down 22.2% year-on-year.
Rebound in export share of eastern provinces and cities
From January to July, exports from Zhejiang and Jiangsu increased by 5.1% and 0.2% respectively year-on-year. Exports from Guangdong, Shandong, Fujian, and Shanghai decreased by 4.5%, 1.6%, 1.8%, and 1% respectively year-on-year. The combined share of the five eastern provinces and one municipality in national exports was 76.3%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points year-on-year. The combined exports of 20 provinces and cities in central and western China decreased by 1.5%, accounting for 19.9% of total exports, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points. Among them, exports from Xinjiang and Guangxi increased by 22% and 19.2% respectively.
