Chinese garment industry may tread cautiously this year

13 Apr '13

2 min read

After being affected by multiple factors, the garment industry in China is likely to tread cautiously this year.

The Chinese cotton price index has been slowly rising since the second half of last year and it has risen by 0.23 percent in March 2013. This creates pressure on garment enterprises and suppliers and results in increase in price of end apparel products.

This, in turn, would affect the decision-making and manufacturers would be more cautious to launch new products.

The adverse effects of rising cotton prices, coupled with excessive stock pressure from previous year, makes buyers to take a more cautious approach while placing purchase orders this year.

Already, the order quantity of 2013 spring and summer clothing has declined by 10 percent compared to the corresponding period of previous years.

Last year, China’s garment sector performance was affected by several factors. On the external front, its exports were affected by financial crisis in Western countries, including the US and the EU.

On the domestic front, the cost of production has gone up rapidly, and has affected the competitive advantage enjoyed by the Chinese garment enterprises.

For the first time, Chinese garment exports witnessed negative growth for 13 consecutive months till September 2012, in spite of the country having strong industrial supporting capacity and a large pool of skilled sewing workers.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - China

More Apparel/Garments News - China...