Printing and dyeing industry recovered in post-pandemic

After several rounds of strict environmental supervision, many printing and dyeing mills were closed, and the production capacity of the printing and dyeing industry was highly concentrated. However, with the gradual control of the COVID-19 epidemic since 2021, what is the situation of China's printing and dyeing industry?

1.Output of printing and dyeing fabrics

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the output of printing and dyeing fabrics of dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size was 60.587 billion meters in 2021, up 11.76% year-on-year. According to the data in recent years, the growth rate of printing and dyeing fabrics production in China has changed greatly. Affected by the pandemic in 2020, the output dropped sharply, down 3.71% compared with 2019. Excluding the impact of the pandemic, the output in 2021 increased by 15.48%, 23.46% and 12.68% respectively compared with 2017-2019, not least because of the improvement in domestic and foreign demand under the gradual control of the pandemic in 2021.

In 2020, the output of printing and dyeing fabrics slipped sharply from January to August affected by the pandemic, but increased significantly with the control of the pandemic and the recovery of downstream demand from September to December. In Jan-Aug of 2021, the production rose by more than 20% compared with the same period last year, mainly due to the low data in the same period in 2020. However, it was not difficult to see that the growth rate from January to August gradually declined, while it decreased evidently from September to December. In Sep and Oct of 2021, due to power cuts, production declined, while the market gradually recovered and the production also gradually increased in the same period of 2020. In Nov-Dec of 2021, due to the plain market, demand for printing and dyeing fabrics weakened and the output growth rate continued to be weak.

With the gradual control of the epidemic, the domestic demand for printing and dyeing fabrics has basically recovered, so how about the foreign demand?

2. Cotton printing and dyeing fabrics export structure

The export data of cotton-related printing and dyeing fabrics are mainly composed of cotton printing and dyeing fabrics and cotton blended printing and dyeing fabrics. The following focuses on the analysis of the change of exports volume and value in recent years.

Cotton printing and dyeing fabrics exports volume accounted for a relatively large proportion, about 63.22% in 2021, an increase of 4.27% over the same period last year, and a 6.66% decline in cotton blended printing and dyeing fabrics exports compared with the same period last year. On the whole, although the export volume of cotton-related printing and dyeing fabrics in 2021 decreased year-on-year, it was significantly lower than that in 2018-2019 and only slightly moved up by 2.25% compared with 2017.

Among the exports value of cotton-related printing and dyeing fabrics in China in the past five years, the export value of cotton printing and dyeing fabrics accounted for more than 60%, and the export value of cotton printing and dyeing fabrics rose by 14.67% in 2021 compared with the same period last year. The export value of cotton blended printing and dyeing fabrics increased by 21.04% over the same period last year. At the same time, indirect exports also showed an expanding trend. In 2021, China's clothing and clothing accessories exports totaled 170.263 billion USD, up 24% year-on-year, setting a new high in clothing exports in the same period since 2016.

Export unit price of cotton printing and dyeing fabrics in 2021 was $1.60/m, the highest in the past five years. This was mainly due to cotton prices reaching a five-year high in 2021. The export unit price of cotton blended printing and dyeing fabrics reached $1.50/m, only lower than $1.52/m in 2018 and higher than that in other years.

In conclusion,the output of printing and dyeing fabrics in 2021 hit a new high in the past five years. The export volume and value of cotton-related printing and dyeing fabrics showed upward throughout the year. In the export of printing and dyeing fabrics, the unit price of cotton printing and dyeing fabrics reached a new high in the past 5 years due to the sharp rise in the feedstock price. The unit price of cotton blended printing and dyeing fabric also jumped to a 5-year high.