What is the export situation of the global textile and apparel industry?

Currently, global economic growth is sluggish, trade is weakening simultaneously, and the export growth rates of the world's major trading countries are slowing down. So, what is the export situation of the global textile and apparel industry? According to the latest data released by major textile and apparel countries such as China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Pakistan, the exports of textile and apparel industries in various countries are both good and bad. Let’s find out together!

China returns to growth track

The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles disclosed on May 9 that China's textile and apparel exports continued to grow year-on-year in U.S. dollars in April, driven by China's continued efforts to stabilize foreign trade and the recovery of the supply chain, accelerated delivery of orders, and a lower base. Slightly lower than the previous month. Among them, clothing exports increased by 14.3% year-on-year in that month, driving the cumulative clothing exports from negative to positive, and the decline in overall textile and clothing exports further narrowed.

China's textile and clothing exports are calculated in RMB: From January to April 2023, the cumulative exports of textile and clothing were 638.3 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8% over the same period last year (the same below). In April, China's textile and clothing exports were 176.03 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.4%, and a month-on-month decrease of 2.2%. Among them, textile exports were 87.41 billion yuan, an increase of 12.1%, and a month-on-month decrease of 0.7%. Clothing exports were 88.62 billion yuan, an increase of 23.2%, and a month-on-month decrease of 3.7%. %.

China's textile and clothing exports in US dollars: From January to April 2023, the cumulative exports of textile and clothing were US$92.88 billion, a decrease of 2.9%. In April, China's textile and apparel exports were US$25.66 billion, an increase of 9%, a decrease of 2.8% from the previous month. Among them, textile exports were US$12.74 billion, an increase of 4.1%, a decrease of 1.3% from the previous month. Clothing exports were US$12.92 billion, an increase of 14.3%, a decrease of 4.2% from the previous month. Bangladesh stands out in South Asia: apparel exports increased by 9% to US$38.5 billion this fiscal year

Despite the global economic slowdown, Bangladesh has managed to grow its apparel exports in recent months. According to provisional data released by the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh (EPB), Bangladesh's ready-made garments (RMG) exports increased by 9.09% to US$38.577 billion in the first ten months of the 2022/23 fiscal year (July 2022-April 2023). , while the export volume in the same period in 2022 was US$35.362 billion.

At the same time, in the first nine months of the 2022/23 fiscal year (July 2022-March 2023), exports of woven and knitted clothing, clothing accessories and home textiles accounted for 86.51% of Bangladesh's total exports of US$45.677 billion. Myanmar: CMP apparel exports worth US$384 million in April

In April, Myanmar exported $384 million worth of cut-make-pack (CMP) garments, with $200 million exported across the border to Thailand and China, and $200 million to Europe and other countries, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association. The amount is US$184 million.

In the fiscal year 2022-2023 (ending March 31), Myanmar received US$1.551 billion from CMP apparel exports. Jordan: Becoming the region’s largest textile exporter to the United States

Ehab Kadri, representative of the textile and leather industry at the Jordan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCI), said that the plans to promote the development of the textile industry in Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision (EMV) will significantly increase the quantity and quality of Jordan’s textile exports.

Jordan's textile industry will provide a total of approximately 149,000 jobs in 2022, effectively reducing the unemployment rate. Jordan's textile product exports rank 16th in the world and are the first Arab country to export textiles to the United States, accounting for 2% of U.S. textile imports. He expects Jordanian textile exports to reach $7.3 billion in the next ten years ($2.1 billion in 2022). Vietnam led the decline in textile and clothing exports from many countries. Vietnam: Textile and clothing exports fell by 18% from January to April.

According to preliminary data from the Customs and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, from January to April 2023, Vietnam's textile and clothing exports fell by 18.1% to US$9.72 billion. In April 2023, Vietnam's textile and clothing exports fell by 3.3% from the previous month to US$2.540 billion.

Since the second half of 2022, demand from major import markets such as the United States and Europe has declined. During the traditional production peak period in the fourth quarter, the textile and apparel market has extremely low turnover rates and the number of orders has plummeted. This resulted in a large number of companies being unable to maintain normal operations in the second half of the year and had to stop some production lines.

According to statistics from the General Bureau of Statistics of Vietnam, in the first three months of this year, nearly 294,000 corporate workers in Vietnam were stopped or had their working hours shortened due to reduced corporate orders. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of unemployed people in Vietnamese enterprises will be approximately 118,000; in the third quarter of this year, this number will continue to increase and is expected to be close to 149,000.

According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), Vietnam has set the export target of textiles, clothing and yarn in 2023 at US$48 billion amid positive market conditions. Cambodia: Clothing exports fell by double digits in the first four months

According to a notice issued by the General Administration of Customs and Taxation of Cambodia, in the first four months of this year, Cambodia exported clothing, footwear and tourism products worth US$3.1 billion, a significant decrease of 24.63% from US$4.11 billion in the same period last year.

Within the industry, knitted apparel revenue was $1.39 billion as of April this year, down 28.5% from $1.95 billion in the same period in 2022. Non-knitted apparel revenue was US$754 million, compared with US$922 million in the same period in 2022, a year-on-year decrease of 18.1%.

In the first four months of this year, footwear export revenue was US$430 million, a decrease of 23.4% compared with US$570 million in the same period last year. Pakistan: Textile and apparel exports fell 29.11% year-on-year in April

According to the China Cotton Information Network, Pakistan's textile and apparel exports in April reached US$1.233 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 29.11% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%. The export volume was an astonishing US$500 million less than the same period last year; the export of cotton yarn was 21,600 tons, a year-on-year decrease. 11.24%, a month-on-month decrease of 7.82%; exported cotton cloth was 28 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 14.58%, and a month-on-month decrease of 5.7%. In the 2022/23 fiscal year (July 2022-April 2023), Pakistan's textile and apparel exports totaled US$13.71 billion, with a total export of 193,900 tons of cotton yarn, a year-on-year decrease of 14.17%; a year-on-year decrease of 31.16%; a total of 286 million cotton exports tons, a year-on-year decrease of 21.08%. India: Textile and apparel exports fell by nearly 14% in fiscal year 2023

From 2021 to 2022, India's total exports of textiles and clothing will be US$41.3 billion, accounting for 9.79% of total merchandise exports. However, in 2022-2023, the sector's exports totaled $35.5 billion, accounting for only 7.95% of merchandise exports. From 2022 to 2023, textile and clothing exports fell by 13.9% compared with the previous year.

In fiscal year 2022/23, India's apparel exports (US$16.11 billion) increased by 1.1% from the previous year (US$16.01 billion), while textile exports fell by 23.3% to US$19.3 billion.

Siddharth Tarajagopal, executive director of the Indian Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council, said that Indian cotton textile exports have experienced a bad year. Factors affecting their exports include high inventories from international buyers and high cotton prices in India last year. . Sri Lanka: Apparel industry exports fell sharply by 24% in April

Sri Lanka's "Daily Financial Times" reported on May 22 that Sri Lanka's garment industry exports are facing severe challenges. Sri Lanka's garment industry exports in April were US$318 million, a sharp decrease of 24% year-on-year, the lowest value in recent years. Exports from January to April were US$1.5 billion, down 17% year-on-year.

In April, apparel exports to the United States were US$129 million, a year-on-year decrease of 25.5%, and exports to the EU dropped to US$90 million, a year-on-year decrease of 27.53%.

Industry insiders said that the increase in market inventory and the recent increase in Sri Lankan clothing procurement costs are the main factors for the decline in exports. At the same time, because prices in Bangladesh, Egypt, and other African countries are cheaper, customers are often asking Sri Lankan suppliers to reduce prices, and Sri Lanka is rapidly losing its competitive advantage. Indonesia: Textile industry faces huge pressure

In April this year, both Indonesian imports and exports continued to shrink. In terms of exports, Indonesia's exports in April reached US$19.29 billion, a month-on-month decrease of 17.62% and a year-on-year decrease of 29.40%. Indonesia's import volume in April reached US$15.35 billion, a month-on-month decrease of 25.45% and a year-on-year decrease of 22.32%.

The slowdown in Indonesia's import and export in April has attracted attention from all parties. Tauhid Ahmad, director of the Indonesian Institute of Economic and Financial Development, believes that the decline in imports indicates a slowdown in the Indonesian economy. On the one hand, Indonesia's export destinations have decreased, especially the decline in demand in the export markets of the textile, clothing, footwear and furniture industries, causing them to reduce their imports of these industrial raw materials. On the other hand, people's purchasing power has weakened, especially that of the middle and lower classes.

Affected by declining market demand in the United States and Europe, the Indonesian textile industry is still facing pressure to lay off workers. Indonesian Minister of Manpower Idafajia recently admitted that textile and shoe factories exporting to European and American markets are facing tremendous pressure, not only "reduced demand, but even no demand at all." Turkey: Clothing exports fell 6.34% to US$6.3 billion in the first four months

According to data from the Turkish Statistics Institute and the country's Ministry of Trade, Turkey's clothing exports experienced a year-on-year decline of 6.34% from January to April 2023, bringing the total export volume to US$6.348 billion, compared with US$6.778 billion in the same period in 2022. In April 2023, clothing exports fell by 23.54% to US$1.432 billion.

From January to April 2023, the export value of knitted and crocheted clothing and accessories was US$3.403 billion, a decrease of 9% from US$2.738 billion in the same period last year. At the same time, the value of non-knitted clothing and accessories was US$2.945 billion, down 3.1% from the same period last year. In April this year, Turkey’s total exports of knitted and non-knitted apparel and accessories fell by 23.54% to $1.432 billion.