Although imports and exports in July hit a record high for the same period, textile exports are not optimistic.
Statistical data shows that my country’s textile exports (including textile yarns, fabrics and products) in July were US$11.6982 billion, a decrease of US$4.2787 billion compared with the same period in 2020, a decrease of 2.678 billion US dollars. %; while from January to July, my country’s textile exports totaled US$80.2529 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 10.8%. Textile export data in the first seven months of this year was actually worse than during the epidemic last year. The data in July not only dropped by more than one-third compared with July last year, but also dropped by nearly 7% from June.
“This year is too difficult. The orders are not as good as last year, but the cost has increased sharply. Before 2020, the price of shipping a container to the UK was US$2,500, but now the quoted price is US$14,000. The increase has exceeded 5 times. I have been in this business for almost 20 years and I have never seen such a high price.” Xu Dong, manager of a large wool textile export factory in Shandong, told reporters helplessly.
Not only have freight rates skyrocketed, but upstream raw material prices have also risen. The textile and clothing companies in coastal areas such as Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang interviewed by the reporter all said that the price of cotton yarn increased sharply in June and July, and the bargaining power of terminal domestic and foreign sales orders was weak. Many foreign trade companies were attacked from both sides, and many export orders were in vain. “I have made a lonely profit”, so I am not very enthusiastic about taking orders, arranging orders, and delivering goods.
In this regard, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles stated that in the first half of this year, with the recovery of international market demand and the return of orders caused by the epidemic and turmoil in other supplying countries, my country’s clothing exports are showing a good rebound trend. Looking forward to the second half of the year, with the fading effect of the US$2 trillion cash subsidy in the United States and the three major obstacles of superimposed exchange rates, freight and raw material prices, there is still uncertainty about the growth trend of my country’s clothing exports in the second half of the year.
Exports of anti-epidemic materials have dropped significantly
Since the second quarter of this year, the monthly export growth of textile and clothing has gradually declined. , Exports fell by 16.8% in May. Exports continued to fall in June, but the decline was significantly narrower than in May, only 3.7%. The decline in July reached 26.78%.
Among them, the four major markets of the United States, the European Union, Japan and ASEAN together account for 55% of my country’s textile and apparel exports. In the first half of the year, China’s exports to the United States and ASEAN maintained relatively stable growth. Growth in the European Union and Japan has slowed relatively.
As demand gradually recovers, the U.S. market stabilizes and exports to the United States achieve rapid growth. Data show that China’s exports to the United States reached US$25.31 billion in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 12.8% and an increase of 19.4% over the same period in 2019. Among them, the key commodity needle-woven clothing increased by 49.4%, down 3.2% from 2019, and basically returned to the pre-epidemic level.
However, the sharp reduction in exports of anti-epidemic materials has caused a sharp drop in my country’s exports to the EU. In the first six months, my country’s textile and apparel exports to the EU were US$21.22 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 19.1%. The average monthly decrease in the second quarter was as high as 43.2%, which was mainly driven by the rapid reduction of epidemic prevention materials. The total exports of medical masks and protective clothing to the EU in the second quarter down 94%.
It is worth noting that the proportion of epidemic prevention materials in exports has fallen rapidly. In the first half of the year, the combined exports of medical masks and protective clothing accounted for 6.3% of total textile and apparel exports, falling rapidly from 22.4% last year. Among them, the proportion in June has dropped to 4.05%, which is in huge contrast to the proportion as high as 54.2% in May last year. “The impact of anti-epidemic materials on the overall export trend has gradually weakened, and textile and apparel exports will further return to a pattern dominated by traditional bulk commodities in the second half of the year.” Textile Network industry analyst Ma Li told this reporter.
During the epidemic, qualified companies across the country responded to the national epidemic prevention and control call and expanded and switched to mask production, filling part of the short-term mask supply gap.
Qichacha data shows that as of August 1 this year, a total of 480,000 mask-related companies have been added across the country, of which 444,000 are in business and existing. . A total of 182,000 companies were registered in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 607.7%, the highest in the past ten years. In the first half of 2021, there were 107,000 new mask companies, which means that there were an average of about 590 new mask companies every day in the first half of the year.
However, with the recovery of production capacity and the steady advancement of epidemic prevention and control work, market demand has been met, and some companies temporarily added mid- to low-end mask production during the epidemic. The assembly line will face the risk of being idle or disposed of.
Rising costs are weighing on corporate profits
“I’m almost dying of worry. The sea freight is over 200,000 yuan, which is too high, and the shipping company has not shipped the goods yet. It keeps saying that it will be two days or two days later.” Li Yu, the person in charge of Vinings Textile (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., told reporters that the company mainly Exporting anti-epidemic materials and other textile products to Spain, the order situation has been good since 2020, and the performance is very impressive. Li Yu said that in the first quarter of this year, the company was not too busy and the gross profit margin was relatively good. However, starting from April, the company became busier. However, due to the impact of the surge in sea freight and the appreciation of the RMB, the company’s profits fell compared to the same period last year. half.
In the past, freight costs were generally not taken seriously by both buyers and sellers in the trade process, and this cost was negligible. However, nowadays, freight costs have begun to seriously squeeze the profits of enterprises.
“The surge in sea freight rates is due to the outbreak of foreign epidemics, especially in India, which has greatly affected the global supply chain. Pushing the supply chain upward willThis has affected the imbalance of global shipping, causing freight rates on domestic ocean routes to soar. However, due to the epidemic, other countries may have many containers piled up at their ports and can be shipped quickly, so their sea freight is relatively low. “An industry insider told reporters as an example that the freight cost of a container has increased from US$5,000 to US$10,000, while the entire container may only be worth US$30,000, with freight accounting for more than a quarter. “This has resulted in some profit margins. Products with relatively low competitiveness are no longer competitive compared with products from other countries, so there is no need to export, because exporting will result in loss of money. ”
Xu Dong told reporters that they have begun to selectively accept orders and produce. For example, some new products are more profitable and can withstand the current high costs, so they will be given priority. ; For regular product and old product orders, due to thin profits, it is possible to wait until the price is suitable, otherwise it will be temporarily shelved and wait and see.
“As far as I know, some companies Work has begun to be suspended or semi-stopped, and some products even have a profit of only one or two cents. ” Xu Dong said.
But even so, the costs of textile production have not compromised due to the lack of downstream demand.
The primary cost of textile production is the price of various raw materials. Supported by the recovery of the downstream market after the Spring Festival, the prices of various raw materials have risen rapidly, creating the highest price so far. Although the price of polyester yarn has begun to gradually fall back. But the increase at the end of June It started again, and was once close to the highest price this year at the end of July. At present, the price of polyester yarn began to correct slightly at the end of July and early August.
On the contrary, the market demand for spandex products There has always been a lot, and the price shows no sign of falling. Even if the current textile market is not good and the export data is not ideal, it cannot affect the weekly rise of spandex. According to the market monitoring spandex price index, spandex commodities on August 13 The index was 189.09, a record high during the cycle, an increase of 190.91% from the lowest point of 65.00 points on July 28, 2016.</p
