$315.47 billion! Textile and apparel exports hit a record high

Edited by Zhao Xinhua

Over the past year,China’s economy has continued to recover,and the long-term sound fundamentals have provided strong support for stable foreign trade.China’s imports and exports of goods exceeded USD 6 trillion in 2021,up by 30 percent year-on-year,and the trade scale reached a new level.

From January to December 2021,China’s textile and clothing exports reached USD 315.47 billion (excluding 94-chapter mattresses,sleeping bags and other bedding),with a year-on-year growth of 8.4 percent (0.9 percent year-on-year growth in RMB),which continued togrow steadily on a higher trade base in 2020 and hit a historic high,according to the General Administration of Customs.

China’s textile exports reached USD 145.20 billion,down 5.6 percent year-on-year (down 12.2 percent year-on-year in RMB) due to the high export base of pandemic prevention materials in 2020,but up 22.0 percent compared with the same period in 2019.In terms of major products,the exports of yarn,fabric and textile products(including home textiles and industrial textiles,etc.) except masks have achieved a rapid growth of 30 percent-40 percent year-onyear,while the exports of pandemic prevention masks showed a significant decline due to the decline in unit prices.

Meanwhile,supported by the rebound of overseas consumer demand and the return of some orders,the annual export of clothing reached USD 170.26 billion,up 24.0 percent year-on-year (15.6 percent year-on-year in RMB) and 16.0 percent year-on-year compared with the same period before the pandemic (2019),the best level since 2015.In particular,garment exports to the U.S.and Europe have increased by about 20-30 percent year-on-year.Garment exports to ASEAN,Japan,South Korea,Australia,Canada and other countries and regions have also increased,and the scale has exceeded the pre-pandemic level.