Between January and May 2023, China’s overall exports of textiles, clothing and accessories totalled $118.202 billion. This marked a decline of 5.26% per cent compared to the same period in the previous year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of China. Garment exports have witnessed a decrease of 1.1% during the same period.
Despite a brief recovery in April 2023, garment shipments slipped back into decline in May. From January to May 2023, the export of garments and clothing accessories reached $61.373 billion and exports were valued at $62.052 billion in the prior year.
China’s exports of textiles, such as yarn and fabric, fell 9.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the first five months of 2023, down to $56.829 billion from $62.719 billion in January-May 2022.
In April 2023 alone, China exported $12.021 billion worth of textiles and $13.298 billion worth of garments.
Meanwhile, the country’s imports of textile yarn and fabric products also saw a decrease, falling by 21.9% to $4.334 billion in January-May 2023 from $5.548 billion during the same period last year. The country imported textile yarn and fabric products worth $1.004 billion in May 2023.
China exported $323.344 billion worth of textiles, clothing, and accessories in 2022, marking a modest growth of 2.53 per cent compared to the previous year. Last year’s exports included $175.396 billion in garments and accessories and $145.079 billion in textiles, such as yarn and fabric, according to the data.