The global markets, which had faced a slowdown during the pandemic, are recovering and opening up to increased imports of textiles and garments, even though imports still remain below the pre-pandemic levels.
As the world’s leading exporter of textiles and clothing, China continues to rule the roost having exported some $ 293.6 billion worth of textiles and clothing in 2023. Though this is a decline of 8.1% over the previous year, it is a source of hope for Chinese suppliers. The figures were released by the Sub-Council of Textile Industry (CCPIT-Tex).
George Zhang, CCPIT-Tex’s vice chairman, recently told this correspondent at New York’s Texworld show – this is North America’s key event for apparel and fashion sourcing – that Chinese exporters were confident about surmounting the present challenges through modernization and upgrading of the industry’s machinery combined with their ability to produce for the high-end market.
“We experienced a decline in exports of textiles and clothing last year, but the trade is now moving towards recovery … some Chinese exporters are shipping the products by air, instead of the sea route to avoid shipping disruptions (Red Sea turmoil, etc.) …” Zhang said, adding that while air shipments reach their destinations faster, the costs of such shipments are much higher than by sea.
Some Chinese exhibitors, explaining the reasons for the decline in 2023 exports, said that the exchange rate fluctuations were causing some “ups and downs” in export figures for 2023. “The dollar’s exchange rate was quoted at 6.73 yuan in February 2023, rising to 7.34 yuan in September before stabilizing at around 7.10 yuan in the earlier part of 2024. The fluctuations do impact trade figures,” one Shenzhen based exporter said.
China’s exports of textile goods alone in 2023 amounted to $ 134.5 billion, posting an 8.3% growth in dollar terms and 3.1% in yuan terms. Clothing/garment exports amounted to $ 159.14 billion, according to CCPIT-Tex, down 7.8% in dollar and 2.8% in yuan terms.
The drop in exports is also attributed to a slow start in 2023, after Beijing lifted its so-called “zero Covid” restrictions. But the CCPIT-Tex observes that the growth momentum started again from April 2023, showing a “marginal but significant improvement”. Indeed, as Zhang said, the year ended on a positive note, with December recording increases of 5.2% and 3.5% in textile and clothing exports respectively over December 2022.
The CCPIT-Tex points out that China’s textile exports to the major markets such as the USA and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) had stabilized, with the U.S. market recording three months of consecutive 5% annual growth in textile-clothing imports.
Chinese sources maintain that countries involved in the "New Silk Road" with China (including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Burma, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey) accounted for more than 50% of China's textile and clothing exports. "Exports to countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Algeria and others have performed exceptionally well," the CCPIT-Tex said.
Official data on the overall performance of China’s textile industry suggests that while China's textile and garment exports touched $ 293.64 billion in 2023, down 8.1% from the previous year, its textile and garment exports rose in December 2023 by 2.6% year-on-year to reach $ 25.3 billion.
Cinte Techtextil China 2024 to connect with future markets through innovation
Messe Frankfurt GmbH, the Frankfurt-based trade show organizer which stages some of the world’s largest textile shows in Frankfurt, including the Heimtextil (home-textiles), Techtextil (technical textiles), Texprocess (textile technology, new innovations), etc., maintains a strong presence in China where its Hong Kong office organizes a number of high-profiled shows, including the upcoming Cinte Techtextil China 2024, in September 2024 in Shanghai. Cinte Techtextil China is Asia’s leading technical textiles and nonwovens event, attracting a large international turnout.
Olaf Schmidt, Messe Frankfurt’s vice president for textile and textile technology shows, said in an interview with American Journal of Transportation that the twin Techtextil and Texprocess shows, held end April in Frankfurt and focused on all the aspects of technical textiles and innovative production methods and tools – the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the textile industry was a key theme - had generated “considerable international interest, including among Chinese companies”.
“China is a key global player in textiles … and Messe Frankfurt’s Hong Kong office closely monitors market sentiments, business trends, innovative processes deploying AI tools in textile production, etc.” Schmidt said.
Schmidt explained that the Techtextil offered an “excellent platform” for ideas about textile innovations, product designing, supply chain issues, etc. Synergies between Techtextil and Texprocess shows, he said, had attracted a large turnout of international exhibitors and trade visitors.
Wilmet Shea, the general manager of Messe Frankfurt (Hong Kong), while making a special CINTE presentation in Frankfurt, described the show as “well-positioned as the industry’s leading regional trade fair … and an ideal platform to bridge business gaps, and showcase and source the most innovative products in the market”.
China-Europe Express Freight Train Service
Not many people would remember that on March 19, 2011, a fully-loaded freight train, the first China-Europe Railway Express, undertook the long journey from Chongqing, China to Duisburg, Germany. Over the next 10 years, the number of freight-train journeys between Mainland China and Europe increased from less than 20 to more than 12,400 in 2020 at an average annual growth rate of 108%. Indeed, more than 3 million standard containers with an estimated total commodity value of about 160 billion Yuan have so far been transported.
Many German traders say that given the uncertainty over the safety of goods shipped through traditional sea routes because of the Red Sea disruptions, the importance of the China-Europe Railway Freight Train Express has increased. China believes that increasing volumes of goods are now moving internationally through the China-Europe rail routes.
The upward trend continued in the first quarter of 2024: the China-Europe freight train services increased, according to the data of the China State Railway Group (China Railway). There were 4,541 trips made between China and Europe in this period, marking a strong 9% increase over the year-earlier period.
The volume of goods transported was approximately 493,000 TEUs, showing a 10% increase YoY. Some Germans, interviewed at the recent Techtextil trade show for technical textiles in Frankfurt, admitted that the rail-freight service is much slower than air transportation, but it is less expensive than airfreight shipments.
