Current Situation of Domestic Textile Industry in 2017: Difficult to Block Advantages

Textile industry in China is a high degree of labor-intensive and foreign dependence on the larger degree of industry. China is the largest producer and exporter of textiles and clothing in the world. The sustained and stable growth of textile and clothing exports is very important to ensure China's foreign exchange reserves, balance of payments, stability of RMB exchange rate, social employment and sustainable development of textile industry. The main raw materials of textiles are cotton, cashmere, wool, cocoon silk, chemical fiber, feather down and so on. The downstream industries of the textile industry mainly include clothing, home textiles, and industrial textiles. In the eyes of many people in the industry, the so-called "cold winter" of the textile industry is actually not established. After decades of vigorous development, China's textile industry still occupies an important position in the international market. With the continuous advancement of the "Belt and Road" national strategy, the domestic textile industry will also usher in new trade opportunities. At the same time, the innovation and exploration of the domestic textile industry is also constantly advancing, from the former "use doctrine" to the real "Made in China".

In fact, it is an indisputable fact that the profit space of the textile industry is gradually shrinking. According to previous data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the main business income and total profit of the industrial textile industry in the first quarter of 2016 were 66.66 billion yuan and 3.89 billion yuan respectively, an increase of 5.98 and 9.4 respectively over the same period last year. Compared with the same period last year, the growth rate of main business income was basically the same, but the growth rate of total profits decreased by 4 percentage points. Chen Yijin, head of Shaoxing Duoxi Textile Co., Ltd., pointed out in an interview with reporters that the slowdown in domestic economic growth and the economic downturn abroad have had a direct impact on the sales of textile fabrics. "Since 2016, the RMB exchange rate has fluctuated more sharply, making textile companies dare not rush to take large and long orders to avoid losses. The poor external economic environment and the reduced purchasing power of foreign investors have made the export situation of the textile industry worse and worse." Chen Yijin said frankly. The textile industry market survey and analysis report data also show that from January to August 2016, China's textile and clothing exports totaled US $178.337 billion billion, down 3.33 percent from the same period last year, of which textile exports totaled US $71.815 billion billion, down 0.50 percent from the same period last year. At the same time, the rising cost has become another threshold in front of the textile industry. With the sharp rise in the price of textile raw materials, the profit level of weaving products has decreased, and the production enthusiasm of manufacturers has been affected. In addition, Chen Yijin revealed that at this stage, textile enterprises in the terminal market generally reflect fewer orders, which also led to a slow decline in inventory of weaving enterprises. However, the inventory of textile raw materials manufacturers is relatively high, which leads to the downstream factories tending to be cautious in purchasing raw materials, maintaining the main demand for purchase, and under the pressure of high inventory of regular products by manufacturers, enterprises mostly produce according to orders, and the machine factory has a high vacancy rate, which affects the production enthusiasm of the weaving industry. "Labor costs have become a big problem." Chen Yijin pointed out that the current domestic labor costs continue to rise, so that the original "small profits but quick turnover" as the "competitiveness" of the domestic textile industry is facing new problems. Nevertheless, the international competitiveness of the domestic textile industry can not be underestimated. Li Binhong, director of the National Textile Development Center, believes that domestic textile technology and fabric quality occupy an important position in the international market. Chen Yijin also pointed out, "In fact, after years of development, the domestic textile industry has formed a regional development model, and industrial clusters have been formed in many regions. This is difficult for other countries and regions to achieve."