Since 2013, affected by factors such as rising production costs, continued rise in domestic cotton prices, and accelerated transfer of the international textile industry, the operating difficulties of Guangdong’s textile industry have worsened, and exports have been affected to a certain extent. According to customs statistics, in the first quarter of 2014, Guangdong exported 53.46 billion yuan of clothing and clothing accessories, textile yarns, fabrics and products (hereinafter referred to as “textile and clothing”), a decrease of 10.4% compared with the same period last year (the same below).
1. The main characteristics of Guangdong’s textile and apparel exports in the first quarter of this year
(1) Clothing exports have declined for four consecutive months. Since December last year, Guangdong’s monthly textile and apparel exports have declined for four consecutive months. In February, exports shrank sharply, down 37.3% year-on-year. In March, exports were only 16.15 billion yuan, down 2.3% year-on-year.
(2) Nearly 60% of exports are in the form of general trade, and exports in the form of processing trade have increased slightly despite the trend. In the first quarter of this year, Guangdong exported 32.04 billion yuan of textiles and clothing in the form of general trade, a decrease of 15.2%, accounting for 59.9% of Guangdong’s total textile and clothing exports in the same period; during the same period, exports of 14.62 billion yuan in the form of processing trade, an increase of 2%, accounting for 31.2% %. In addition, exports in the form of special customs supervision areas were 4.64 billion yuan, a decrease of 16.6%, accounting for 8.7%.
(3) Foreign-owned enterprises are the main exporters, and the exports of state-owned enterprises have declined significantly. In the first quarter of this year, my country’s foreign-invested enterprises exported 23.33 billion yuan in textiles and clothing, an increase of 0.5%, accounting for 43.6%; during the same period, private enterprises exported 21.91 billion yuan, a decrease of 19.3%, accounting for 41%; state-owned enterprises exported 8.23 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.18% %, accounting for 15.4%.
(4) Mainly exported to Hong Kong, the European Union and the United States. In the first quarter of this year, Guangdong’s textile and apparel exports to Hong Kong were 13.26 billion yuan, a decrease of 14.7%; exports to the EU were 10.3 billion yuan, an increase of 1.7%; exports to the United States were 9.37 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.3%; exports to the above three markets accounted for 61.6% in total. %. In addition, exports to ASEAN were 13.98 billion yuan, a decrease of 14.8%.
2. Reasons for the current decline in Guangdong’s textile and apparel export value
Factors such as the inversion of cotton prices have led to the weakening of the cost advantage of domestic enterprises and the loss of downstream clothing orders. Cotton is the main raw material for cotton textile manufacturers, and foreign companies usually place orders based on international cotton prices. Due to the cotton purchase and storage system previously implemented in my country, cotton prices have not been in line with the market, and cotton prices at home and abroad are obviously inverted. At the same time, the quota management mechanism of cotton imports has also made the costs of domestic textile production enterprises high [1]. Considering the production cycle of the enterprise, taking the price of cotton in 2013 as an example, the domestic average price was approximately 19,377 yuan per ton [2]. During the same period, the price of cotton imported from Guangdong was 2,078 US dollars per ton (equivalent to 12,898 yuan), and the price difference between domestic and foreign countries amounted to more than 6,000 yuan. . Coupled with factors such as rising labor prices and the appreciation of the RMB that are inevitable due to economic transformation and upgrading, the production and operation costs of my country’s textile and garment export enterprises are constantly pushing up. The cost advantage of my country’s textile and garment products is acceleratingly weakening. Many enterprises, especially multinational companies, Orders are being transferred to Turkey, Southeast Asia and other places at an accelerated pace.
2. Main problems and suggestions in current textile and apparel exports
(1) The momentum of mergers and acquisitions and integration in the textile industry is beginning to show. As the countdown to the release of the “State-owned Enterprise Reform Roadmap” begins [3], “reform fever” has become a hot word in various industries. In the textile industry, Shanghai and Shenzhen have begun piloting the transition to mixed ownership, which is important for increasing the value of state-owned textile enterprises. Said that there will be strong impetus [4]. At the same time, due to the large number of enterprises in the domestic textile industry and the high degree of market competition, the transformation process still faces many difficulties in how to introduce private capital “retail investors” and solve social problems such as employment during the reform process.
(2) The cotton direct subsidy policy will be gradually implemented, and the market outlook effect needs to be tested. This year, the national cotton purchase and storage policy will be adjusted. Except for Xinjiang, the cotton market in all provinces will be liberalized, and the temporary purchase and storage policy will be changed to a direct subsidy policy. This policy is based on the price formed by the market and protects producers through price differential subsidies. an agricultural support policy that benefits the country. If the direct subsidy policy can be effectively promoted, taking into account the current high inventory of more than 10 million tons, it will help to achieve a downward trend in domestic cotton prices and eliminate the “scissors gap” between domestic and foreign cotton prices, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of my country’s textile and apparel industry [5] . However, from the current point of view, the 2014 cotton target price approved by the State Council is 19,800 yuan per ton. The intention of “raising the price” is obvious, which restricts the downward space of cotton prices. The future direction of the cotton price pricing mechanism needs to be tested by the market.
