World textile and apparel trade and production trends: China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan

摘要

China continued to be the world’s largest producer and exporter of textiles and clothing in 2017. Furthermore, textile and clothing exports from the country rose by 1.5%, although their share of world textile and clothing exports is estimated to have remained static during the year. China remains the dominating force in the Canadian, EU, Japanese and US import markets although its share of textile and clothing imports in each of these markets fell in value in 2017. Reflecting the rise in Chinese textile and clothing exports, production of textiles in China grew in 2017 and again during January-May 2018. There was also a substantial rise in Chinese retail sales of clothing and footwear.In Hong Kong, domestic exports and re-exports of textiles and clothing fell in 2017. However, domestic exports alone fell at a steeper rate than re-exports did and, as a result, the share of re-exports in total textile and clothing exports rose to an overwhelming 99.6%. Reflecting the fall in domestic exports, textile and clothing production continued to decline in 2017.In Japan, textile and clothing exports rose by 2.4%) in 2017. The rise reflected increases in exports to a number of markets, including Cambodia, China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, the USA and Vietnam. However, production fell for the sixth consecutive year. At the same time, imports rose and so did retail sales.South Korean textile and clothing exports remained essentially unchanged in 2017 as higher exports to the EU, Turkey and Vietnam were offset by lower exports to China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the UAE and the USA. The poor performance of South Korea’s textile and clothing exports had a negative effect on production, as textile production declined and clothing production rose only minimally.In Taiwan, textile and clothing exports rose by 1.5% in 2017following five consecutive years of decline. Geographically, the rise in 2017 reflected increases in exports to China, the EU, Indonesia and Vietnam, although there were declines in exports to Hong Kong and the USA. A Iso, textile and clothing production fell during the year.