China's spandex export cold in Q1 but warms up in Q2

According to the latest data from China customs, exports of spandex amounted to 35.4kt in Jan-Jun, 2023, down by 15.2% or 6,337 tons on the year. Imports of spandex approached 20.4kt in Jan-Jun, 2023, up 64.7% on annual basis. The net exports of spandex declined by 48.8% year on year to 15kt in Chinese mainland.

Export: cold in Q1 but warmer in Q2

Exports of spandex amounted to 35.4kt in Jan-Jun, 2023, down by 15.2% or 6,337 tons on the year. The export unit price was at $5.10/kg in Jan-Jun, 2023, down by $3.774/kg on the year. Export of spandex slowly increased in Q1 2023. Exports were low in Jan and Feb affected by the Spring Festival but obviously increased in Mar. The spandex exports in Q1 2023 was far lower than the corresponding period of 2020-2022 and was close to that in Q1 2019, close to the second lowest in recent five years. In Q2, spandex exports was low at first but rose later. Total exports in Q2 hit the second highest in recent five years with greatly depreciating exchange rate of RMB against the USD and growing overseas demand, which increased by 1273 tons over Q1.

Major export destinations

Spandex were exported to 101 nations or regions in Jan-Jun, 2023, up by 7 on annual basis. Turkey sustained the biggest export destination, followed by Vietnam and Egypt. South Korea was the fourth biggest export market. The proportion of the top four nations amounted to 48.9% of the total.

Vietnam, Japan and UK were net importers of spandex in H1 2023. Import and export of spandex to Vietnam were both large in H1 2023. The net import of spandex from Vietnam was at 9436 tons. With high inflation in Europe and US and insufficient orders of textiles and apparels, Hyosung Vietnam exported more spandex to China. Imports of spandex from Vietnam amounted to 15.2kt in H1 2023, up by 162% on the year, accounting for 74.4% of total spandex import in Chinese mainland. Import unit price of spandex from Vietnam was at US$4.171/kg. In H1 2023, Vietnam was the second biggest export market for spandex, with volume at 5743 tons, up by 134.5% on annual basis, taking up 16.2% of the total spandex export in Chinese mainland. The export unit price of spandex to Vietnam was at US$4.792/kg.

Major export origins in China

 Exports of spandex from Fujian and Ningxia hiked in Jan-Jun, 2023, which advanced by 223% and 11660% respectively, while those from other regions reduced by 5-74%.