Poor pessimism in textile and garment exports

Reporters visited the third phase of the 116th Canton Fair and discovered that the pessimistic sentiment of the textile and garment export market has been plagued by the persistent downturn in the international economic situation and rising production costs. The market outlook is generally not optimistic. Faced with the severe situation, textile and garment companies have sought breakthrough points and accelerated their transformation and upgrading.

The pessimistic mood of textile and garment exports has always been regarded as a benchmark for China’s foreign trade. As the highlight of the third phase of the Canton Fair, the transaction volume of textile and clothing basically reflects the export situation in the next six months.

According to data from the China Textile Import and Export Chamber of Commerce, as of November 1, the first two days of the 116th session of the Canton Fair, a total turnover of 850 million US dollars of textile and apparel, compared with the 115 session of the Canton Fair fell 2.4% over the same period. Among them, the turnover of the most actively traded cotton knitted garments and other knitted apparel was US$135 million and US$72 million, respectively.

The traditional European and American markets are still the main export markets of Chinese textile and garment companies, but the turnover has generally declined compared with the previous session of the Canton Fair, and the turnover of the Japanese market has soared to become a bright spot. As of November 1st, European market turnover accounted for 36.4% of all transactions, which was basically the same as in the 115th session, a slight increase of 0.04%; Americas transactions accounted for 28.2% of all transactions, down 10.6% from 115th session, of which the United States was still The world's largest purchaser of textile and garment products, with a transaction volume of US$118 million, a decrease of 9.4% over the 115th session; Japan’s turnover has soared, and the transaction value has increased by 55% compared with 115th session; Africa’s transaction volume has increased by 23.2% over the 115th session, accounting for the same period. Compared to 4.1% from 115th session, it increased to 5.2%.

From the overall understanding of the situation, due to the current downturn in the international economic situation, the main export markets of China's textile and clothing, Europe and the United States and other developed countries are still slow recovery. At the same time, the outflow of stimulus funds by the Fed’s withdrawal policy was serious, the currency depreciated sharply, and the emerging economies’ economic weakness continued, and China’s textile and apparel exports slowed down significantly.

Many exhibitors interviewed by the reporter also expressed pessimism about the foreign trade situation this year.

“This year our business is under greater pressure, especially US demand is relatively weak. Due to the relatively large inventories last year, the United States is mainly digesting inventories this year,” said Wang Changjun, deputy manager of the International Business Unit of Luthai Textile Co., Ltd.

Wang Changxin believes that the overall economic situation is not good, coupled with the off-season in the fourth quarter, exports will be the worst quarter, and the first quarter of next year will continue to be poor until the second quarter will show signs of recovery.

According to the person in charge of Jiangsu Haotian Garment Co., Ltd., the foreign trade situation this year is not good and the overall growth is slow. Originally, this year's revenue growth rate was expected to reach 10%, but the European market's trading volume has dropped significantly, and it seems that it can only reach 4.5%. -5% increase, I believe the European market will not be much better next year.

The head of Zhejiang Condor Group Co., Ltd. also stated that the company’s export situation was unfavorable this year, and the company’s income was generally flat, mainly due to the reduction of orders in European and American markets, especially in the first half of the European market, which decreased by 10%-20%. .

Textile Chamber of Commerce data show that from January to September 2014, China’s textile and apparel exports totaled US$138.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%, and the growth rate was down 5.8 percentage points from the same period of last year.

Companies strongly reflect the rising costs As a traditional labor-intensive industry, the Chinese textile and apparel industry is highly sensitive to rising costs. In recent years, with rising labor costs, the cost of production has “rising” and the price advantage is gradually being replaced by Southeast Asian countries. Reporters learned that companies responded most strongly to high-cost dilemmas.

“At present, the main problem facing the company is the high cost, especially the cost of labor,” said Han Xiaoying, deputy manager of International Business Department of Luthai Textile Co., Ltd. II.

Reporters interviewed by Jiangsu Haotian, Shanghai Textile and Zhejiang Condor Group also all said that rising costs are the biggest problem faced by corporate development.

In addition, some companies also stated that trade barriers, exchange rate fluctuations and other issues have caused certain problems to exports.

Wang Changqi pointed out that the European Union, the United States, and other regions and countries have issued a series of laws and standards for textiles and garments in succession, which will inevitably impose higher requirements on the export products of enterprises and become a major barrier to trade affecting textile and garment exports.

Han Xiaoying believes that the impact of exchange rate fluctuations is also direct, as long as the appreciation of *** is a net loss for the company.

In the face of many irreversible predicaments in the face of adversity, some companies have told reporters that “In fact, dilemmas are opportunities, which can prompt us to change.” “It is the key to doing a good job of yourself and we must tap our strengths in the international market.”

The reporter found at the Canton Fair that many textile and apparel companies vigorously developed their own brand strategy, explored design innovation, process innovation, marketing innovation, and service innovation, and the road to transformation and upgrading gradually became on track.

In the booth of Hangzhou Light Industry Arts & Crafts Textiles Import & Export Co., Ltd., the brand identity is very prominent. The person in charge said that as early as 1996, the company registered the “Andstar” brand and registered trademarks in major international markets such as Europe, the United States, and Japan.

Luchang Textile's Wang Changwei introduced that the company is working hard to create design innovation ideas. It has established design centers in the United States and Europe, invited European designers to join the team, and will hold design briefings in New York, Milan, and Shanghai in spring, summer and fall. Wang Changmin also said that now the guests are choosing our design, which is no longer a price.

“Every time we can bring products with innovative craftsmanship and styles, this year's autumn and winter wool knitwear masters are pushing the two new processes of “fried color” and “dye-dye.” Guangzhou Import & Export Group Co., Ltd. Rong Tai Mao Li Xuehong, Deputy Manager of Weaving Branch, said.

The “Hengli Cloud Service Platform” independently developed by Jiangsu Hengli Group has achieved inquiries for product quotations, orders for purchases, payment for purchases, and tracking of orders, with over 10,000 customer applications. It is understood that in 2013, Hengli Group's marketing expenses saved RMB 300 million from the same period last year, and the marketing staff's work efficiency increased by more than 200%.

According to report, many companies, such as Shanghai Association for International Trade Co., Ltd. and Lutai Textile, are actively breaking the existing service model, strengthening supply chain integration, and working closely with upstream and downstream companies in the industrial chain to provide targeted services to customers. A complete solution with value-added services.