In May, overall textile and apparel exports rose 6.4% month-on-year. Exports to the United States reached USD 4.52 billion, up 29% year-on-year; exports to Japan grew 5.8% year-on-year; exports to ASEAN fell 2.3% year-on-year; exports to the European Union declined 9% year-on-year; and exports to Belt and Road partner countries edged down 7.7% year-on-year.
From January to May, China's textile and apparel exports to the US hit USD 19.1 billion, an 11.3% year-on-year increase. Shipments to ASEAN, the EU and Japan fell by 2.2%, 1.5% and 0.8% respectively. Combined exports to these four major traditional markets stood at USD 61.18 billion, accounting for 52.4% of China's total textile and apparel exports. Exports to Belt and Road partner countries amounted to USD 66.19 billion, down 2.9% year-on-year and representing 56.7% of total exports.
According to U.S. import statistics, the United States imported USD 8.49 billion worth of textiles and apparel worldwide in April, down 11.8% year-on-year. Imports from Vietnam slipped 0.1%, those from China dropped 30.5%, and imports from India fell 32.1%. Vietnam, China and India accounted for 16.4%, 13.8% and 8.4% of total U.S. textile and apparel imports respectively.
EU import data shows the bloc imported USD 10.93 billion of textiles and apparel in April, a 1.8% year-on-year decline. The top three suppliers were China, Bangladesh and Turkey, with imports valued at USD 3.31 billion, USD 1.79 billion and USD 1.13 billion, making up 30%, 16% and 10% of total EU imports. On a year-on-year basis, imports from China rose 11.7%, while shipments from Bangladesh decreased 15.9% and those from Turkey fell 2.2%.
Data from China Feather and Down Industrial Association
