China’s apparel exports reached at $36.547 billion in 2022 from $34.772 billion of 2021, when there was a sharp recovery after the COVID-19 disruption. The outbound shipment had witnessed sharp fall in 2020 to $25.369 billion from $32.046 billion of 2019. The trade stood at $34.735 billion in 2018 and $32.352 billion in 2017, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro.

But quarterly figures present a contrasting picture. China’s apparel exports to the US fell to $7.195 billion in last quarter of 2022 from $11.042 billion of Q3, 2022. The shipment was $10.581 billion in Q2, 2022, $7.728 billion in Q1, 2022, $9.647 billion in Q4, 2021 and $11.649 billion in Q3, 2021, as per TexPro.

It is interesting to note that cotton exports from the US to China have increased last year despite the former banning the import of cotton and cotton products originating from the Xinjiang region of China. Cotton exports from the US to China jumped to $2.902 billion in 2022 from $1.330 billion in 2021. The trade was $1.820 billion in 2020, $705.069 million in 2019 and $920.496 million in 2018. On quarterly basis, US cotton exports to China were $959.613 million in Q1, 2022 and $993.916 million in Q2, 2022, which decreased in the next two quarters to $525.120 million in Q3, 2022 and $423.983 million in Q4, 2022. The export was $288.950 million in Q4, 2021.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)