In 2017, China's textile economy operation showed five major characteristics

● EU market:

From January to November 2017, the EU imported 105.26 billion euros of textiles and clothing, a year-on-year increase of 1.78%, reversing the negative growth of the previous year. From the perspective of the growth rate of EU textile and clothing imports, it continued to decline from February 2016 to the bottom of March 2017, and the decline gradually narrowed until June 2017, when it reversed negative growth and the growth rate remained stable at around 2%.

● US market:

From January to November 2017, the United States imported $98.38 billion in textiles and clothing, a year-on-year increase of 1.24%, reversing the negative growth of the previous year. From the perspective of the growth rate of US textile and clothing imports, the decline continued to deepen from March 2016 to February 2017, and gradually narrowed until October 2017, when it reversed negative growth and achieved positive growth.

● Japanese market:

From January to November 2017, Japan imported textiles and clothing worth 3705.1 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 4.04%, reversing the negative growth of the previous year. From the perspective of the growth rate of Japan's textile and clothing imports, the decline continued to deepen from March 2016 to October 2016, and then gradually narrowed until July 2017, when it reversed negative growth and maintained stable growth.

● Markets along the "the Belt and Road":

From January to November 2017, China's textile and clothing exports to the "the Belt and Road" countries were US $83.435 billion, up 3.11% year on year, reversing two years of negative growth. Among them, the top five markets are Vietnam, Russia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates, with a total export of 35.34 billion US dollars, accounting for 42.4% of the textile and clothing exports to the the Belt and Road. The growth rate of textile and clothing exports to the the Belt and Road is higher than that of the industry, and the proportion of textile and clothing exports to the the Belt and Road exceeds 1/3.

Active investment in the eastern region

From January to November 2017, fixed investment in China's textile industry reached 123093 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.29%. From the perspective of regional structure, the investment growth rate in the eastern region is 8.7%, which is 4.5 percentage points faster than the same period last year, accounting for 80.1% of the national investment increase. Due to the relatively small amount of new production capacity in the eastern region, its higher growth rate indicates that enterprises have high enthusiasm for transformation and upgrading investment.

Except for the chemical fiber industry, the investment growth rate in the front-end industries of the industrial chain has decreased compared to the same period last year. The investment growth rate of the three major terminal industries has increased compared to the previous year. The total fixed investment of the three major terminals is 597.04 billion yuan, accounting for 48.5% of the total industry investment; Their investment growth rates are 6.0%, 25.8%, and 4.8%, respectively.

Stable improvement in quality and efficiency

In the first 11 months of 2017, the profit margin of the textile industry was 5.26%, an increase of 0.13 percentage points compared to the previous year, and the industry's profitability has been enhanced; The main revenue cost of 100 yuan was 88.49 yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.1%, with a slight improvement in cost control; The asset liability ratio is 51.8%, a decrease of 0.22 percentage points compared to the same period last year, and deleveraging has achieved certain results.

From the perspective of different industries, the profit growth rate of the chemical fiber, filament weaving, and textile machinery industries has been significant, while the profit growth rate of the cotton textile, linen textile, and industrial industries has decreased. The profit increment of the chemical fiber industry accounts for 50.7% of the total industry profit increment.

There is significant differentiation in different links of the internal industry chain: from January to November 2017, the profit margin of China's textile industry increased by 0.13 percentage points. The profit margins of the chemical fiber, filament weaving, and textile machinery industries have significantly increased, with profit margins of 5.30%, 4.94%, and 6.90%, respectively, all increasing compared to the same period last year; The profitability of the cotton textile, linen textile, and industrial industries has decreased compared to the same period last year, with profit margins of 4.64%, 4.17%, and 5.63% respectively, all of which have decreased compared to the same period last year.

Outlook for Economic Operation in 2018

Looking ahead to the economic operation trend of the industry in 2018, the China Textile Union Industrial Economics Research Institute believes that the growth rate of added value in China's textile industry will remain at 5%, the export growth rate will remain at 2%, the main business income growth rate will be 7%, and the total profit growth rate will be 7%.

In terms of raw material price trends: cotton prices are relatively stable, and the international cotton market supply and demand pattern is relatively loose, lacking a significant price increase basis; Although there is still a supply gap for domestic cotton, under the regulation of national storage and import policies, the price difference with the international market is expected to be controlled within a reasonable range.

The international crude oil price has increased, and the oversupply of international crude oil is gradually easing. Although the rise in oil prices will push up the cost of chemical fiber, it will also provide upward support for the sales prices of downstream chemical fiber products, and the chemical fiber industry is expected to continue to maintain its rapid growth momentum in 2017.

In terms of international market demand, the demand in the international market has grown steadily, but the growth rate will not significantly increase. The global economy continues to recover, consumer confidence improves accordingly, and overall consumer demand will steadily grow. The economic recovery cycle and clothing consumption growth rate are lower than those of durable goods and service expenditures. Consumption in developed countries has generally rebounded with economic recovery. The consumer expenditure structure is relatively stable, and the proportion of clothing, shoes, and hats expenditure remains between 3% and 4%. But in the economic recovery cycle, residents will prefer leisure and entertainment and catering consumption, and expand related expenses. The proportion of clothing consumption will be reduced, and the growth of consumption will also be relatively slow.

Domestic consumption will steadily increase, with a growth rate basically comparable to 2017. On the one hand, the national economy continues to grow steadily, providing a healthy and favorable economic environment for domestic consumption. On the other hand, residents' income has increased rapidly, their willingness to consume has increased, and consumer finance has developed rapidly, providing positive support for the expansion of domestic demand. The significant upgrading of domestic demand, the increasing demand from consumers for quality, culture, environmental protection, and the rapid development of experiential consumption and sharing economy have all posed new challenges to the optimization of supply institutions in the textile industry.

(Source: China Textile News)