China-UAE textile trade declines in 2025 amid investment push

Recently, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan virtually held the inaugural meeting of a high-level committee for China-UAE investment cooperation. Ding praised the committee’s role in fostering results in bilateral cooperation, stating that China will work with the UAE to implement the common understandings between the two heads of state and enhance the efficiency and scale of investment cooperation to strengthen the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership.

Despite these efforts, the latest trade data indicates volatility in the textile and apparel trade. China’s apparel exports to the UAE dropped by 47.1 per cent to $268.6 million in January-February 2025, compared to $507.539 million in the same period last year. Similarly, fabric exports to the UAE decreased by 23.5 per cent to $256.247 million in the first two months of 2025, down from $335.858 million in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro.

The UAE is a key consumer of textile products, while China is the largest textile and apparel exporter globally. China’s apparel exports to the UAE peaked at $2,731.199 million in 2021, reflecting a surge of 68.61 per cent. However, this growth slowed in the subsequent years. Exports decreased by 3.78 per cent to $2,627.980 million in 2022, dropped by 17.9 per cent to $2,157.500 million in 2023, and further fell by 12.3 per cent to $1,891.824 million in 2024, according to TexPro.

In terms of fabric, China’s exports reached $1,494.807 million in 2021, a 91.92 per cent increase from the previous year. This figure rose by 12.46 per cent to $1,680.990 million in 2022. However, trade eased by 6.26 per cent to $1,575.830 million in 2023, before bouncing back with a 12.59 per cent increase to $1,774.276 million in 2024.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)